A New Betrayal
by k0nceptive
Summary: He should have seen it coming. Naruto wanted so desperately to believe that Sasuke had changed that he never saw the the knife at his back. Now here he was, trapped with no way home. One little accident was all it took to strand him in a new world. But when the time came, would he even want to return? Rated M for safety. Disclaimer: I don't own any part of either series.
1. Chapter 1

The barren, desolate landscape of the final battle of the fourth ninja war seemed to finally brighten as the two heros were half-assisted, half-dragged from the Valley of the End. As Kaguya's Infinite Tsukuyomi began to wither away, Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right.

**"It's only in your head, brat."** Kurama, the great nine tailed fox rumbled.

His container, no his friend, didn't respond, opting instead to only dive in his head. Naruto knew what victory felt like, he had tasted it enough. But this, this didn't feel like he had won anything at all. Sure he knew that victory was not always without cost. He had learned that from the very first mission Team 7 had taken out of Konoha.

He had felt betrayal, when he believed that Haku had killed Sasuke on that bridge. 'Wow, that feels like a lifetime ago now.' The blond shinobi pondered, 'Hard to believe we've come this far.'

**"Hmph," **Kurama snorted, **"Not as far as you might think. You're still a headstrong brat."**

'What is that supposed to mean!?" Naruto grumbled, his one good arm crossed over his chest as Kakashi dragged, ahem, assisted him down to where the five kage were set up. Even though the tailed beast had a change of heart in his view of the last Uzumaki, he was still a bit of an ass.

The silver haired former cyclops gave him an amused eye smile, but went ignored as Naruto continued to reminisce.

. He remembered their clash with Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. That may not have technically been a victory, but the squad of genin had survived, which was good enough for the time.

He remembered the fight with Neji. How for the first time, he had been recognized by the village, if only in passing.

The fight with Gaara, the kinship that formed between the two biju containers.

His fight with Kabuto, where he had used his father's technique for the first time.

He thought of the Land of Snow and the Land of Tea.

His clash with Sasori and Deidra when they captured Gaara.

Peins attack on Konohagakure.

Obito provoking the fourth shinobi war.

The other six Jinchuuriki.

Madara decimating everything in his path.

Kaguya Otsutsuki, the literal progenitor of chakra.

Each and every battle, every victory he remembered. There was a special feeling when you know you defeated someone above your class. The pride, the jubilation he felt in each of those moments was almost enough to get addicted to. Sure he knew that not every fight ended in complete victory. The death of Asuma and Jiraiya, Neji sacrificing himself, he remembered every loss just as clearly as every victory.

But he knew what triumph felt like, and this didn't feel like that at all. He glanced down at what was left of his right arm before looking toward Sasukes left arm. The bleeding had stopped thanks to Sakura's haphazard healing jutsu. He didn't blame her, she was just as exhausted as he was, the only difference being he had a giant chakra battery in his gut.

Sasuke had been oddly quiet since they had been found by Kakashi and Sakura. Even when they had come together to release the Infinite Tsukuyomi he hadn't said a word. It felt as if everything they had seen, everything they had created during that final fight was gone.

The nods and pats on the back he received from the members of the newly release shinobi alliance did nothing to calm his frayed nerves.

He was finally broken from his trance when he felt a solid grip on his good shoulder. He turned to see his revived father grinning at him.

"You did it son," The Minato stated proudly, "You proved that Jiraiya's peace could be achieved." The Fourth Hokage stood as regal as ever, despite having lost an arm to a truth seeking orb in the conflict. It gave him an odd sort of symmetry with his son.

Naruto said nothing, opting to instead return the grin, though his was notably less bright, something the revived Hokage did not fail to notice. He glanced around at the gathered shinobi around him. Mist and Sand, Rock and Leaf, men and women who had once been bitter enemies were now laughing and celebrating as if they had known each other their entire lives.

'Maybe I should just relax, it's all over.' Naruto thought.

"**That's exactly what I have been saying, brat. Maybe you should learn to listen as well as you fight."** Kurama butted in.

'Maybe you should learn to leave your opinion away from where it's not wanted!' Naruto shot back.

"**Why you little…"** Kurama started, before pausing, **"Wait, did you feel that?"**

"Who's being paranoid now?" Naruto mumbled before hearing what sounded like a sandbag hitting the dirt. Naruto shot around to see Sasuke standing over Sakura, a light blue coating of chakra over his remaining arm. Naruto didn't have time to react as Sasuke hit him, sending him tumbling down the steep embankment of the crater. Naruto struggled to his feet just in time for a hard punt kick to connect with his jaw.

"Sakura barely had any chakra left," Sasuke mused aloud, "But it should be enough."

Naruto looked up at his old friend, disbelief evident on his face. He struggled to his feet just as Sasuke brought his hand up to catch the blade of the revived second Hokage before quickly draining the Edo Tensei shinobi as well. The white haired man crumbled away, leaving only the corpse of the white zetsu clone behind. Sasuke smirked as he charged toward Naruto again, stopping briefly to swat away 2 random shinobi. A brief flare of purple sprang to life around Sasuke's arm as his incomplete _Susano'o _barrelled into Naruto. Naruto skidded across the barren landscape and slammed into a boulder,

"I thought I made it clear," Sasuke remarked, "Now is the time for a revolution. With you out of the way, no one can stand against me." Another flare of bluish-black chakra exploded around Sasuke as his signature _Chidori_ exploded to life.

**"I don't have enough chakra for a full cloak,"** Kurama grunted, **"Pull in Nature Chakra, now!"**

Naruto pulled in as much Nature Chakra as he could handle as Sasuke charged toward him. What Naruto did not anticipate, however, was his father flashing to his side and pulling him through a _Hiraishin _jump just as the last Uchiha reached him.

Disoriented and confused, Naruto lost control of the Nature Chakra inside him. He felt his body beginning to turn to stone and instinctively forced the Nature Chakra out of his body. Minato shouted in surprise as the volatile substance exploded around him. Minato's vision flashed white as he desperately tried to locate one of his _Jutsu-Shiki _while trying to balance the now overwhelming amount of nature chakra pouring out of the boy he was holding on to. The two blonds were finally expelled from the dimensional void that his signature technique travelled through. The father-son duo landed in a heap.

"W-What?" Naruto slurred out, "What happened."

Minato didn't respond, choosing instead to observe the new landscape around them. '_This definitely isn't the battlefield anymore.' _he thought to himself.

Naruto regained his bearings and drowsily sat up. He looked around to observe their new surroundings.

The forest was beautiful, a stark contrast from the desolate site of the fourth shinobi war. The deep green of the treeline stood stark against the mountain range in the background. The trees themselves, while not as tall or as thick as the ones surrounding his home, were dense and suffocating, casting the forest around them into a permanent darkness with only flecks of light fighting their way to the forest floor.

"Where are we?" Naruto rasped, turning to face his father. Naruto was shocked to see the fourth hokages reanimated body flaking away.

"I don't know." Minato responded, "But I can't feel any of my tags anymore," Minato turned to Naruto, the left side of his face completely gone. He took Naruto's hand and forced the tri-pronged knife into his hand. "You have to find a way back," he warned as his body continued to disintegrate, "You have to stop him."

Naruto tried to respond, but Minato held his hand up to silence him. "There's no more time. My connection with the _Edo Tensei _has been cut, you have to work out the _Hiraishin_. Use it to go back to Konoha." Minato tried to continue, but it was too late. The corpse of the sacrificed white zetsu clone flopped to the ground.

Naruto stared blankly at the kunai in his hand. He grimaced as he struggled to his feet, only to collapse against a tree.

'Kurama, can you feel any people nearby?' he asked his partner as he deposited his father's knife into the pouch on his thigh. While he would have liked to rest for as long as possible, Sasuke's words rang in his head like an echo. He had to get back as quickly as possible.

**'There are a couple of odd signatures to the southwest,' **Kurama responded, **'But they do not feel like shinobi.'**

'Civilians?' Naruto inquired, confused.

'**No, they all have some sort of energy, but it does not feel like chakra.' ** Kurama answered, **'Two of them have a noticeably smaller presence than the other two, though the largest easily dwarfs all three of the others.'**

"Well, I guess we don't have any other options." Naruto muttered as he limped his way through the forest. The dull ache of his stump was a constant annoyance as he fought his way through the dense underbrush. He stopped to rest against a tree when a massive shockwave reverberated through the forest. Naruto was nearly thrown to the ground as he force hit him.

**'Seems like a fight,' **Kurama remarked, unhelpfully, **'The largest energy signature just spiked. You may want to avoid the area for now.'**

'We need to find a way to a town or something,' Naruto said, 'Unless you can find anyone else, that's our best option.'

Kurama did not respond, but Naruto could feel his disapproval reverberate through his mind.

It seemed like a miracle when he finally stumbled out of the forest into a small plain a few moments later, only to be met with a bizarre sight. On a small path through the middle of the field stood four people dressed in some of the most bizarre outfits he'd ever seen, bar maybe Lee and Gai. From where he stood, it seemed that three of them were trying to box in the last.

Furthest from him were two people standing side by side. The first person was a dark-skinned woman with mint green hair. She reminded Naruto a little of one of the other _Jinchuriki_ that he met after Son swallowed him. She wore an olive green top that left her midriff exposed. She also wore a pair of shorts the same color as her top underneath dark brown chaps. In her hands were what Naruto could only assume were weapons of some sort. They looked kind of like some of the short clubs he had seen members of the Shinobi Alliance using expect these looked to be hollow with a hole at the end. Under the bottom of the strange weapons were Kama blades, a weapon Naruto was more familiar with.

Beside the green haired girl was a man with slicked-back grey hair a few shades darker than Kakashi's. He wore a grey and black zip up shirt and a pair of black pants that seemed to be burnt off at the knees, showing his lower legs. The oddest part of his appearance was his legs themselves, which seemed to be covered in armor made out of some sort of metal.

Closest to him stood a pale woman with short, pitch-black hair. She wore a short red dress with separated sleeves. The dress had gold designs running along the sides and up the sleeves. She also wore heeled shoes similar to the heeled sandals that Tsunade wore. In her hands were a pair of strangely shaped curved swords.

The final person standing in the middle of the group was another woman. She had shoulder length brown hair. She wore a white blouse under a brown corset and a few pieces of gold armor. Her brown pants were scuffed and torn from the fight. She wore long, gold heeled boots and was leaning heavily on a wooden staff topped by a pink crystal.

Naruto stumbled out into the field, but none of the four noticed him as the green and grey duo charged the lone woman. The solo fighter held her own admirably as she fought them off, eventually kicking away both the green girl and the grey boy, but she failed to notice the woman in red drawing the bow that her swords combined to make. Naruto thought of calling out to warn her, but decided against it as three arrows were fired into the ground surrounding the lone brunette. The arrows took on a deep orange glow and exploded, causing the woman to cry out in pain as she was thrown back. The trio tried to take advantage of the opening and charged forward, only to the pushed back when the brunette waved her arm and unleashed a massive gale of wind, with the woman in red taking the brunt of it and being sent sprawling down the path.

The man recovered quickly and charged forward, along to be struck by a bolt of lighting fired from the brunette woman's fingertips. She then turned and flung a fireball toward the empty space about ten feet to the side of the green haired woman, only to follow it up with another that hit its target dead-on.

The brunette struggled to her feet and limped toward the green haired woman. The pink-tipped staff was raised above her head when Naruto saw her eyes go wide before she collapsed forward. The woman in red stood victoriously and stalked toward the downed woman. The brunette could only offer a few easily contained struggles as the man and the other woman grabbed her by the arms, forcing her to look at the woman in red.

Naruto limped forward as fast as he could. At first, he was content to just let the fight play out. He didn't know what was going on between the four and he honestly didn't think he could risk reopening his injury, but something about seeing the trio manhandle the lone brunette didn't sit right with him. His suspicions were confirmed when a soft black aura surrounded the ravenettes hand. The brunette began to struggle as hard as she could against her captors, but was unable to break free.

Naruto finally reached the wooden fence lining the path as the woman began to desperately squirm in an attempt to free herself. Red dress reached out her hand to the brunette. The downed woman's eyes widened in desperation as she stared fearfully at whatever was in the younger woman's hand. Almost subconsciously he reach into the pouch on his thigh and slid his father's knife into his palm.

'**Naruto, don't,' **Kurama warned, **'You can't afford to get involved. Remember what the Fou-'.**

Kurama was unable to finish his thought before the knife left Naruto's hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'All according to plan.'

Cinder Fall was one happy woman. Months of planning and tracking had finally produced the results that she and her mistress had longed for. They finally found the elusive fall maiden. All that was left now was to take that amazing power for herself. Then she would be an unstoppable tool for Salem. As she felt the new Grimm appear in her palm, she was almost giddy with delight. Only a few more moments and everything she wanted would be hers.

Cinder reached her hand out to create the connection, but before the Grimm could do its work, she heard a low whistle. An odd, tri-pronged knife collided with her hand, causing her aura to flare. The Grimm beetle in her hand was sent careening off into the grass beside the road. Cinder snarled in annoyance as she turned to meet the fool who dared to interrupt her plans. She was met by a fist roughly colliding with her cheeking, causing her to barrel into Emerald and Mercury. The fall maiden, now unsupported, collapsed forward with the arrow in her back. Cinder shot to her feet and took in what might be the most pathetic looking boy she had ever seen.

He couldn't have been any older than her. His golden blond hair clashed harshly with his orange and black track pants. The tattered and ripped fishnet shirt he wore was barely holding itself together. But what really caught her attention was his right arm, or what was left of it. The blackened limb ended in a jagged stump at the elbow. Cinder thought he looked like an Ursa Major had gotten a hold of him and not let go.

Cinder snarled as she fired a glowing orange arrow at the interloper. It exploded just as it reached the blond boy and threw him back in a ball of fire. He grunted in pain as he rolled with the flame, landing roughly on his stump. Cinder smiled vindictively as she noticed the wound reopen and begin pouring blood into the dirt around him. She drew another arrow into the newly formed bow, intent on ending this miserable creatures life. She lined up the shot and prepared to fire before the boy flashed a brilliant gold and disappeared from sight.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'This isn't good.' Naruto thought as he struggled to his feet, 'Kurama, do you have enough chakra for a sync yet?'

'**Only stage one,' **Kurama responded, **'And only for a few seconds, half a minute at most.'**

Naruto cursed in his head. That wasn't enough time to make sure he could beat all three unknowns. He glanced at the downed girl, who was now trying to drag herself to her discarded staff.

'**Naruto' **Kurama got his attention, **'Another signature just entered my range. You're going to have to hold out until they get here and hope they are friendly.'**

'How do I do that?' Naruto asked.

'**Stage one cloak, taijutsu only.' **Kurama grunted, **'Neither of us have recovered enough to risk any ninjutsu.'**

Naruto nodded as he glared up at the woman in red. He felt Kurama's now familiar power course through him as the golden cloak exploded out.

Cinder was unprepared for the brutal uppercut that forced her off the ground. Naruto spun on his feet and hit the woman with a massive mule kick that flung her even farther down the path. Mercury and Emerald gaped at the sheer speed that the newcomer showed, even with what should be a fatal injury, but that did not stop them from trying to help their leader. They didn't make it far before the now golden interloper backhanded Emerald and launched her through the wooden fence. Mercury flipped forward and attempted to land a heel drop on their mysterious opponent. Naruto caught the grey haired boys leg and threw him in the same direction as Emerald. Mercury collided with Emerald just as she regained her barings, causing both of them to roll out into the field.

Naruto turned his attention back to Cinder, only to see a glowing orange arrow flying toward him. Naruto could only raise an eyebrow at the attack. The attack seemed like it was moving in slow motion compared to what he was used to. Sasuske was twice as fast as that even after fighting Kaguya.. Naruto dashed to the side, allowing the arrow to harmlessly pass and explode somewhere behind him. He raised the stump of his right arm and willed Kurama's cloak to expand. The new chakra arm rushed forward and attempted to grab Cinder. Cinder was able to barely avoid the appendage and fired a quick volley of arrows at the blond. Naruto swiped the arrows out of the air and prepared to rush the black haired woman again.

Naruto had planted his foot into the ground and prepared to dash just as the last of his partners chakra gave out. Naruto grunted in exhaustion as he collapsed forward, barely stopping himself from hitting the dirt with his good arm. He forced himself to roll to the side as another arrow planted itself right where his head had been.

Emerald and Mercury trudged out of the field. Emerald had a murderous look in her eyes as she raised her guns to end the blond annoyance. Just as she lined up her shot she was blown off her feet. Mercury looked to the side to see that Amber had finally reached her weapon. She fired another lighting bolt at Mercury that he avoided easily. Amber reared her staff back again, but gasped in pain as another arrow buried itself into her shoulder.

Cinder stomped angrily back up the dirt pathway. She drew her bow once more, but never got the chance to fire again. The only warning of incoming danger that she got was the low whistle of something slicing through the air. She pivoted on her foot to see another interloper bring a sword down on her head. She leapt to avoid the blow, landing beside the downed Emerald.

Cinder growled in annoyance as one of the few people that her mistress warned her about made his presence known. She grabbed the green haired girl roughly by the arm and motioned toward Mercury.

"We're leaving." she told her underlings, her normally sultry voice now little more than an annoyed growl. Mercury and Emerald looked conflicted but didn't question their leader. The trio dashed into the forest in an attempt to put as much distance between them and their new enemy.

Naruto rolled onto his side and apprehensively observed as the newcomer rushed over to the brunette. The girl looked slightly annoyed by the new man, but by the way she relaxed he didn't think she was in any danger.

The newcomer had spiked, greying black hair that looked oddly like a birds feathers. He wore a two tone grey shirt with a red cape flowing off his back. His legs were covered by silky black pants and he wore what looked to the shinobi to be the most uncomfortable shoes possible.

"Qrow," the brunette addressed the man, "I'm fine. He needs help more."

The new man, Qrow, looked over at the blond man. His crimson red eyes widened as he took in the boys war-torn appearance.

Naruto attempted to get to his feet as the black haired man approached him but he weakly collapsed back into the dirt. A wave of exhaustion hit the blond hero as darkness took him.


	2. Chapter 2

_Naruto stood on top of the statue of the First Hokage. His mind was hazy as the Nine-Tails continued to try to influence him but he knew that he couldn't give in. Not now. His eyes snapped over to the boy he called his friend. Sasuke looked like just as much of a monster as the young jinchuriki. The grotesque, hand like wings sprouting from the back of the last loyal Uchiha flexed out as he exploded off of the head of Madara Uchiha. His arm was covered in the sickly black lighting of the curse-mark infused Chidori. _

_ Naruto quickly formed the only jutsu he knew that could stand up to Sasuke's chidori. The deadly red chakra of the nine-tails bled into the normally calm blue and turned the technique a dangerous purple. He charged to match his friends advance. The two famous jutsu clashed in an explosion of power. Both genin vied for the upper hand in the conflict, but neither could overpower the other. _

_ Naruto always considered his promises to his precious people to be the most important things he had. His promises made him who he was and he had promised Sakura that he would do whatever it took to bring Sasuke back. So when Sasuke thrust him technique further into the clash, Naruto redirected his own. Naruto's rasengan scratched the symbol on Sasuke's forehead protector. Everything seemed like it was moving in slow motion as Sasuke's hand collided with his chest. Naruto closed his eyes in preparation ,but peeked them back open when he felt no pain._

_ Standing over him was his friend a few years before their fight at the valley. The younger Sasuke stood with a haughty smirk as he stopped his fist just short of Naruto's face. The blond heard a vaguely familiar voice call the end of the match, but when he looked over to where he knew Iruka should be, he instead saw the woman he had come to care for as a grandmother. Tsunade's eyes were wide in shock as crimson red pooled around her feet. Sasuke stood beside her, his hand shoved through her chest, in the exact same spot as he had struck the blond boy years before._

_Sasuke's head turned, almost inhumanly, to stare at the downed blond. The damnable sharingan glowed an eerie red as he smirked at the jinchuriki._

"_I win again, idiot."_

Naruto's eyes shot open as he gasped for air. He shot up into a sitting position as his training kicked in. He quickly surveyed his new surroundings, careful not to get the attention of anyone that might be around. He would have guessed by the startlingly white walls and the overpowering smell of disinfectant that he was in a hospital. The problem with his theory, however, was that this didn't look like any hospital he had ever seen before. Large, metallic contraptions littered the room. Some of them were connected to what looked like television sets on sticks. Even the televisions didn't look like what he was used to. They were far thinner and far larger than anything he had ever seen.

'Kurama, you there?' Naruto called out to his partner as he swung his feet over to touch the ground. He offhandedly noticed that someone had changed him out of his clothes as his bare feet made contact with the cold stone floor.

Kurama grunted in response to his container, **'I told you not to get involved. Now look at what your idiotic decision got us into.'**

'I couldn't just not help her,' Naruto defended himself.

'**You could have and you should have!' **Kurama roared, **'Now we're in unknown, possibly hostile territory all because you had to play hero again!'**

Naruto grimaced at his partners logic. He pushed himself off the bed and steadied himself against the metal tv-pole. 'Fine, I'll just leave before they notice.' he thought. If there was one thing Naruto Uzumaki was better at than fighting and eating ramen, it was escaping hospitals. Naruto took a few steps toward the window before his legs gave out underneath him. He collapsed to the floor, his chin bouncing roughly off the hard ground.

'Ugh, what in the name of ramen?' he thought, 'Why can't I walk.'

Kurama snorted in his mind, **'The great Naruto Uzumaki with chakra exhaustion. Who would have thought it possible.'**

Naruto groaned in annoyance at his partners obvious amusement. He couldn't remember a time in his entire life when he was this exhausted. Thinking back, it was remarkably similar to the state his sensei was in following his first fight with Zabuza. Naruto couldn't help the slight smirk that followed that line of thought. It had taken over 24 hours of almost constant fighting to get him to the point Kakashi was at after only a few minutes. Naruto worked his good arm underneath him in an attempt to drag himself across the floor, but only succeeded in knocking over the small table beside the bed. The resultant clatter of medical supply crashing to the ground caused Naruto to cringe. There was no way no one had heard that. His fears were confirmed when the door on the other side of the room opened.

"By Oum!" the decidedly feminine voice exclaimed, "What happened?"

The woman rushed over to the blond shinobi. She rolled him onto his back before assisting him into a sitting position with her knee supporting his back. Naruto gazed tiredly up at his assistant and instantly noticed that it was the same woman he had helped out. He got a good look at her face for the first time. The first thing he noticed was her hazel eyes with a small beauty mark underneath her left eye. Naruto could have swore that he felt nature chakra rolling off the woman when their eyes met, but that may have just been the exhaustion talking.

"Come on," she said, gently helping him to his feet, "Let's get you back to bed.'

Naruto didn't try to fight her. Something about the woman's presence was calming. She almost felt familiar in a way, despite knowing that he had never met her before. When Naruto was settled back into the bed, the woman took his hand in hers.

"I never did get a chance to thank you." she said, her hazel meeting his azure, "If you hadn't come, I would… she would have…" the woman was unable to finish her thought, but Naruto did notice that she had begun squeezing his hand in frustration. "I'm the Fall Maiden, I'm supposed to be the one protecting people. So why does it always seem like I'm the one that needs protecting?" She ranted.

She must have noticed the confusion that Naruto was trying to hide because she released his hand. "Oh, I'm sorry. We haven't been properly introduced. My name is Amber." She said, holding out her right hand. Naruto looked pointedly at the offered appendage, before glancing down at his stump in amusement. Amber blushed and swapped hands.

"Naruto," the blond answered, trying and failing to keep the grin off his face as he accepted the handshake, "Naruto Uzumaki."

Amber smiled kindly at him but didn't release his hand. After a few moments she realized she still had a grip on her savior and jerked back as if she had been burned. Her hand shot up to her right shoulder as she yelped in discomfort from the sudden movement.

Naruto decided to spare her any more embarrassment, "Do you mind telling me where we are?" He asked.

"Oh, Qrow brought us back to Beacon." she answered, glad for the change of topic.

"Beacon?" Naruto asked, a bad feeling growing in his gut at the unfamiliar name, "What country are we in?"

"Vale." Amber answered, "Do you not know where Beacon Academy is?"

Naruto didn't answer immediately, but the sense of dread continued to grow. Amber must have noticed his discomfort. She quietly excused herself, saying something about going to tell ozzy that he was awake, whatever that meant.

'Kurama, you don't think we could've crossed dimensions again do you?' Naruto worriedly asked his partner. This could complicate getting back to stop Sasuke. Naruto was never the best student, he wouldn't deny that, but even he couldn't recognize that strange name. To make things worse, Amber had answered him as if their location was a widely recognized place.

He immediately thought of summoning Ma or Pa to get him back, but remembered trying and failing to do the same during the fight with Kaguya. It made him wonder just how dimensional travel worked. He somehow gave himself a headache just thinking about it.

'**It could be possible.'** Kurama confirmed his fear, **'I thought that the Rinnegan was required to cross the barrier, but that Nature Chakra is unpredictable. It is possible that it interfered with the Fourths technique and threw it off course. We need more information before we can know for certain. Enough of this, there are people coming."**

Naruto turned his head to the door just in time to see Amber slip back in. Behind her was the man from the fight, Qrow he remembered, and another, unknown man.

The newcomer was a few inches taller than Qrow. He wore a black jacket over a dark green vest and a pair of dark green pants that looked to be made of the same material as Qrow's. He also had a pair of dark glasses that looked way too small to use and a walking cane. The new man looked Naruto over with a critical eye. Naruto could tell by the way the man carried himself that he was high on the chain of command around here.

"Professor, this is Naruto." Amber introduced, "Naruto, Professor Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy."

"Hey gramps," Naruto said, causing Amber to give him a horrified look. The silver haired man merely chuckled in amusement.

"We're surprised to see you awake, young one." he responded, "Only a few hours ago you looked to be on death's doorstep."

"I heal fast." Naruto vaguely explained, "I always have."

"Your Semblance perhaps?" Ozpin asked.

"Semblance?" Naruto muttered in confusion. Ozpin picked up on it, but decided not to comment.

"Amber mentioned you didn't know where we are." Qrow said, mockingly. "You live under a rock your whole life, or just hit you head harder than we thought?"

"Something like that." Naruto replied, annoyed.

"Would you mind telling us where you do come from?" Ozpin asked, "Someone who doesn't know about one of the biggest institutions on Remnant just popping up is highly concerning."

'What do you think?' Naruto asked his partner, 'Do we trust him?'

'**I cannot sense any negative intent,'** Kurama responded, **'if he is the leader of such a powerful organization, this may be the best option we're going to find.'**

Naruto hummed in agreement before turning to the headmaster, "This may sound crazy, but i'm not from here."

"That much is obvious," Qrow sassed. Amber elbowed him in the ribs.

"Are you from Mistral? Perhaps Atlas." Ozpin asked, curiously.

"No," Naruto shook his head, "I mean I'm not from this world."

Amber and Ozpin looked shocked, but Qrow burst out laughing "This kid's a nut, Oz." The black haired hunter exclaimed, "Maybe you should just lock him up and throw away the key."

"Let us hear what he has to say, Qrow." Ozpin responded.

Naruto took a deep breath before continuing, trying desperately not to throw something at the annoying man in the corner, "I was in a fight." He started, "There was a mixup with a teleportation jutsu. Then I just show up somewhere completely unfamiliar. Atlas, Vale, Mistral, I've never heard of any of these places."

Ozpin closed his eyes in thought, Amber was looking at him in confusion and Qrow looked like he was about to die from holding in his laughter. A tense few moments passed before Ozpin eyes opened again.

"I will have to look into this further," Ozpin said, causing Qrow to give him a shocked look.

"You can't really believe that!" Qrow exclaimed.

"Look around Qrow," Ozpin answered calmly, "We live in a world were soulless beasts would like nothing more than to tear humanity apart. Where inhumane feats are a daily occurrence. Is something like this truly that impossible?."

Qrow mumble something under his breath but did not openly respond. Ozpin took a seat beside Naruto's bed leaned forward. "I would assume that you are going to try to find a way back then?"

Naruto nodded but suddenly remembered what his best chance was. A chance that he, quite literally, threw away. "Did anyone get my knife!" Naruto panicked. He looked around desperately for his father's signature weapon, but his face fell when Amber pulled what was left of it out of her pouch. The blade was warped and cracked and the handle was charred to a blackened crisp.

"When you dodged that arrow," Amber explained, "It got hit and was caught in the explosion."

Naruto's world crashed around him as his best chance at getting home broke apart in his hand. Amber must have noticed the look because she muttered a quiet apology.

"Perhaps we can come to an agreement," Ozpin spoke, "You do something for me, I'll see if I can help get you back home."

Naruto didn't respond so Ozpin continued, "I'll be back in a moment, Qrow come with me, Amber make sure our friend doesn't end up back on the floor."

Naruto was lost in thought as the two men left the room. He was too busy getting chewed out by a massive beast made of sentient chakra.

'**What did I tell you!' **Kurama roared in his head, **'Now the only chance we had is gone!' **

'I told you!' Naruto yelled back childishly, 'Who knows what those three were planning! I had to help!.'

'**It wasn't our problem what they were planning!' **the biju roared back.

Naruto blocked out Kurama's voice. He wasn't going to sit around and get lectured for helping someone. He looked up to see Amber leaning against the wall beside the window. She appeared to be deep in thought. Naruto broke her out of her concentration.

"So, you said you were a 'Fall Maiden'." Naruto said curiously, "Is that important."

Amber didn't look at him as she responded, "Kind of. It's probably best that Ozpin explains that. He knows more about it than I do."

Naruto decided to try a different tactic, "Is it like a title or…?"

Amber didn't respond and the duo sat in awkward silence. The monotony was finally broken when Ozpin and Qrow reentered the room. Ozpin appeared as calm and composed as he was when he left, but Qrow looked like he was about to blow an aneurysm. Ozpin carried four folders under his arm. The silverette made his way over to Naruto's bed before dropping the folders on the table.

"I still think this is a bad idea, Oz." Qrow growled out.

Ozpin seemed unfazed at his subordinates anger, "You know what's coming Qrow. The attack on Amber just reinforces our worries."

"You're planning on dragging my niece into this!" Qrow said, "You know I can protect her!"

"Like you 'protected' her mother?" Ozpin said bluntly, "Or like you 'protected' Amber."

Qrow looked like he was about to snap at the headmaster, but the fire left his eyes as he conceded to Ozpin's points. The black haired man slouched into a chair and fished a metal flask out of his jacket.

"We need someone closer," Ozpin continued, "Even if they do not get directly involved, everyone I have pointed out will be targeted."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

"There are a few, ahem, high profile individuals attending the academy in the upcoming semester." Ozpin explained, "The offer I want to make is this. You join as well. Watch over them until we can figure out who exactly is targeting our people and I will do everything I can to help you get back home."

Naruto pondered the offer for a moment before Kurama forced his way back into Naruto's focus, **'Take the deal,' **the biju muttered, **'I doubt we'll get a better chance.'**

Naruto silently agreed with his partner before focusing back on the headmaster, "Alright, deal. Who am I protecting?" Naruto was no stranger to escort missions. That was all this was in truth, with a side bit of forced education. Naruto shuddered at the thought of having to attend another academy.

A pleased smile appeared on the older man's face as he opened all four folders. The four profiles in the folders belonged to three girls and a boy. Three of them looked to be about the same age as him and the last looked a little younger. Naruto took the first profile page in his hand and silently thanked whatever higher power there was that he somehow landed somewhere that not only spoke the same language, but wrote the same was as well. Naruto hummed in thought as he read the profiles.

The first profile featured a picture of a serious looking white haired girl. He took a moment to observe the picture, noting in particular the scar going down the girls eye. He idly remembered the injury that Kakashi had told him cost his eye. It was almost in the same spot but it didn't look quite as deep.

_NAME: Weiss Schnee_

_YEAR: Incoming 1st._

_AGE: 17_

_HEIGHT: 5'3"_

_HAIR: White_

_EYE: BLUE_

_INFO: Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, the largest supplier of dust for the Kingdoms._

Naruto filed away the information to ask Ozpin about later as he picked up the next profile. This one was a male that looked remarkably similar to Naruto, without his signature whiskers. The boys hair matched Naruto's exactly, but his skin was slightly paler and his eyes a bit darker blue.

_NAME: Jaune Arc_

_YEAR: Incoming 1st_

_AGE: 17_

_HEIGHT: 6'1"_

_HAIR: Blond_

_EYE: Blue_

_INFO: Only son of the prestigious Arc family. _

Naruto grimaced as he thought of having to deal with not one, but two heirs. He shook those thoughts away as he picked up the third profile. Looking at the picture, Naruto was stunned at how gorgeous the girl was. She had crimson red hair and emerald green eyes. Naruto would admit that while he got most of his personality from his mom, his dad's attraction to redheads passed on as well. She also didn't appear as serious as the first two if her pleasant smile was anything to go by.

_NAME: Pyrrha Nikos_

_YEAR: Incoming 1st_

_AGE: 17_

_HEIGHT: 6'0"_

_HAIR: Red_

_EYE: Green_

_INFO: Four-time champion, Mistral Circuit. Prime candidate for experimental Maiden Transfer Device._

Naruto presumed that these 'Maidens' must be important if they were going so far as to transfer whatever they were. He filed that away as part of the long list of things he had to discuss with Ozpin. Grabbing the last profile, Naruto examined the last of his charges. He noticed immediately that the last girl was younger than the other three. She had chin length black hair that faded to red tips. She had shiny silver eyes that looked sort of like a darker Byakugan with a pupil. There was an ear-splitting grin on her face in the profile shot.

_NAME: Ruby Rose_

_YEAR: Incoming 1st_

_AGE: 15_

_HEIGHT: 5'2"_

_HAIR: Black and Red_

_EYES: Silver_

_INFO: Inheritor of the Silver-Eyes, Final known holder. _

Naruto idly wondered what was special about her eyes, but cast it aside. He has been around and fought against people with crazy eyes his entire life. Naruto was broken out of his reverie when Amber shouted at Ozpin.

"You can't do that!" Amber cried, "I'm a Huntress! I should be out there helping!"

Ozpin pushed his glasses up and looked disapprovingly at Amber, "You were attacked and beaten by some unknown force, Amber." he explained calmly. "We cannot risk you. You will return to Beacon. This is not up for discussion."

Amber glared at the older man before turning away. Ozpin turned his attention back to Naruto, "The new semester begins in a week and the students will arrive shortly before then." He explained, "If you don't have anymore questions, I have preparations to make. When you're back on your feet, Amber will escort you to the city so you can stock up on essentials." Naruto looked to Amber to see if she had any objections, but she only stood silently glaring out the window.

"I do have a couple of questions." Naruto interjected, before the older man could leave.

"Ask away." Ozpin answered.

"First, won't it be odd for a random person to just land at a top school?" Naruto asked, "That could make it difficult to stay undercover."

"I already have that covered," Ozpin answered, "You will not be entering as a normal student. Most people believe that the only way to get into one of the major Huntsman Academies is to go through preparatory schools, but there is another. Some who show enough promise are taken as apprentices to professional Hunters. You will be entered under the guise of being Qrow's apprentice. Luckily, one of your charges, Miss Nikos, had such an offer made to her although she declined in favor of attending Sanctum Preparatory. As such a student, you will not be placed in an official team and all missions you take will be with one of the others. All you would have to do is befriend them. "

Naruto nodded and continued, "Amber mentioned something about being a 'Fall Maiden'. Is that something I should look out for?"

"No." Ozpin declined, "The Maidens are four women of incredible magical power, but we already know the identity of all four and the location of three. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a scroll call to make. I'm sure Amber and Qrow can answer any other questions you have." Ozpin left before Naruto could ask anything else and Qrow followed him out of the room without a word. Amber looked at the door before she sighed. The brunette ran a hand down her face as she sat down in the seat Ozpin vacated.

"If you want." Amber said, "We can go into the city tomorrow. Qrow left you some clothes to wear until then."

Amber stood and moved to the door. She looked back at the bed-ridden shinobi, "Thanks again." She said as she stepped out.

Naruto fell back against his pillow.

'What have I gotten myself into now.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It didn't take long for Naruto to get back on his feet. By the time Amber came back around the morning after Naruto and Ozpin's deal, he was up and moving like nothing ever happened. The Maiden made good on her orders to take him to get supplies, and he couldn't wait to get out of the stuffy clothes that Qrow had apparently lent him. Amber wasn't wrong when she guessed they were about the same size. The grey shirt and black pants he had been loaned were the exact right length for his 6'2" frame, but it soon became clear that Naruto was a bit bulkier than Qrow. The clothes were uncomfortably snug.

The two left the Academy right around noon since Ozpin had said he needed Naruto for something that evening. Naruto was amazed by the sheer size of the city of Vale. It dwarfed anything he had ever seen.

"You really...hehe...won a fight like that?" Amber croaked out between giggles. Naruto had decided to try to cheer the despondent girl up. The entire trip she had said very little, and it started to grate on Naruto's nerves. Luckily for him, he had plenty of stories to lighten the mood.

"Yep, Kiba wouldn't get anywhere near me for a month after that one!" Naruto said, a bright grin on his face. "Enough about me. I'm sure you have some great stories too."

Amber's smile fell, "Not as many as you would think. I was only recently allowed to even leave the city alone." She pouted, "When I was first told that I was the Fall Maiden I was so excited. All I've ever wanted was to help people, but those two treat me like a child. I'm nineteen, I think I should be allowed to make my own decisions. Now I'm being forced to act like a professor's assistant at Beacon when I should be out there!"

Naruto could empathize with the brunettes feelings. He remembered being told he wasn't allowed to go help in the fighting during the war. Having to sit and meditate while he knew that his friends were fighting and dying for him was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do.

Naruto rubbed the girls shoulder comfortingly and tried to change the subject, "Ya know, Gramps never did explain what a Maiden is." Naruto said.

Amber rubbed a few tears of frustration out of her eyes and tried to explain. "Most people think we're a fairy tale." She said, "Centuries ago, four women were blessed with the power of nature itself. It's said that a powerful spirit granted the four women their powers after they helped him. Each Maiden correlates to one of the seasons, Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. It's said that when a Maiden passes, her powers transfer to the last person in their thoughts if they are eligible, and a random girl if they are not. Our powers are different than anyone else's in that we don't need dust or aura consumption to use them."

Naruto listened curiously. The story was surprisingly similar to the story that Old Man Sage had told him and Sasuke of the reincarnations of his sons.

"I became the Fall Maiden when I was really young." Amber continued, "I can't even remember a time without it."

The two arrived at the shop that Amber recommended just as she finished her story. The two separated in the shop. Amber said she needed to pick up a few things as well. Naruto wandered over to the men's section of the store. He browsed nonchalantly until he saw something that made his eyes light up like a child. He ripped the article of clothing off the rack and sprinted over to the pants. After he grabbed the first pair of pants he saw that would match the color he dashed into the dressing room.

Amber had collected everything she needed and was trying to find Naruto when she heard the commotion in the dressing rooms. She moved to a bench to wait just as the blond shinobi reappeared. She hummed in approval at his new attire. He was clad in a black jacket made of leather. The jacket had orange accents on the undersides of the arms and around the collar that perfectly matched the shade that his old pants had been. He left the jacket open in the front and wore a matching orange shirt underneath it. His pants were almost a perfect mirror of the jacket. The new cargo pants were black with an orange line following the curve of his legs. He also found a pair of black leather boots.

"Looking good." Amber commented, causing Naruto's face gain a light pink dusting. He wasn't used to getting compliments from anybody, much less girls. Well, except for Hinata but she kind of weirded him out. "Come on, let's go pay for this stuff and we should have some time to grab some food before we have to head back."

Naruto nodded giddily. This was the first time in his entire life that someone approved of his love for the color orange. It went right over his head that this was also the first time that orange wasn't the main color.

Naruto stood back as Amber finished purchasing everything. He would have felt slightly guilty that he couldn't pay had Amber not told him that Ozpin had given her the money for everything. The brunette grabbed his good arm as they left the store but Naruto was able to catch a glance at the shopkeeper glaring at him as he left.

He was so confused by the action that he completely missed whatever Amber had said as they left.

"Sorry. What?" Naruto asked.

Amber shot him an annoyed glare, "I asked if you have a preference for lunch." The girl said.

Naruto felt another grin stretch onto his face. He was going to make Ozpin cry. "Know any good ramen places?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Amber watched in one part awe and one part disgust as Naruto vacuumed his twelfth bowl of noodles. When he suggested ramen, she didn't think he could eat it like a fish breathing water. The chef at the restaurant, A Simple Wok, also watched with lien signs in his eyes as the blond devoured the soupy noodles.

Naruto himself, however, was in bliss. While the noodles weren't as good as Ichiraku's, any ramen was good ramen for him.

Amber was about to get the blonds attention when she felt her scroll begin to vibrate. She got it out of her pocket and groaned when she was Qrows face on the screen. She bit the bullet and answered.

"Huh?" She stated eloquently, "Ok. We'll be there soon." Qrow was apparently still irritated over yesterday because he was even more curt than normal. Just a 'Ozpin is ready to see the kid.' and he hung up on her. She reached over and tapped Naruto on his good shoulder.

"Naruto," she informed him, "Ozpin is ready for you, we have to go."

Naruto sighed in disappointment but didn't argue. He followed Amber back out onto the street up toward the awaiting vehicle, which he learned was called a _bullhead_, was ready to take them back to the school. On the trip down earlier he had been extremely skittish on what he saw as a flying death trap, but he calmed down considerably when Amber walked on and took her seat nonchalantly.

Naruto was lost in thought as he followed the brunette girl back onto the vehicle. In what seemed like seconds they were back at Beacon and outside Ozpin's office. Naruto fidgeted slightly as they waited for Ozpin's assistant to announce their presence. When the two were allowed in, Naruto quickly surveyed the room. He recognized most of the people in the room. Ozpin was there, of course. Also present was the blonde professor, Glenda Goodwitch, that he had met before he and Amber left earlier. Qrow had even stuck around. The last person, however, Naruto did not recognize. He stood at an even height with Ozpin but was dressed almost exclusively in white. He was clean shaven and had a very neat and tidy haircut. On Ozpin's desk was a large, metallic crate.

Ozpin chuckled as he took in the blonds new appearance, "See James, I told you it was the correct colors." He addressed the new man.

The man didn't respond. Instead he looked appraisingly at Naruto.

"Uh, what's that?" Naruto pointed out the elephant, or rather the gigantic box, in the room.

"That, my boy, is the result of me calling in a favor." Ozpin answered, moving over to the box. "I can't have an agent as important as you will be working at less than one hundred percent."

Ozpin pulled the top off of the box to reveal its secret. Inside was what looked like a metal gauntlet that would cover the entire lower half of someones arm. It had burnt orange plating around the outside and the metallic parts inside were obsidian black. He also noticed a bulge in the gauntlet just above the wrist and a slit on the underside.

"That's for me?" Naruto questioned, ""Thanks gramps but i'm not really a weapons kind of guy."

Ozpin chuckled again, "This is not a weapon. One would assume that a replacement limb would be a welcome gift."

Naruto's eyes went wide as he looked back over the arm. That thing was an artificial arm? He knew Tsunade would kill for technology like this. Plenty of shinobi's careers had ended because of injuries like his. Just how advanced was this place?

Ozpin waved Naruto over and had him sit down at the desk. The new man, James, took the arm out of the box and offered it to Ozpin. The headmaster motioned for Naruto to take off his jacket and hold out his stump. Almost as if it had a mind of its own, the arm latched on to Naruto's stump as soon as it got close enough. The arm melded onto him and began to flex itself while also stimulating the muscles in his upper arm.

"It's calibrating itself to you." Ironwood explained, "In a couple of minutes you should be able to move it like you would a natural hand."

Naruto grinned as he tried to perform hand seals with the new hand. Maybe this wasn't such a bad deal after all. He tried to channel chakra through the arm, but noticed it stop at his elbow.

'Ok, so no chakra through my right arm.' Naruto thought, 'Whatever, all my techniques can be done with one hand anyway.'

Naruto turned his attention back to Ozpin, who had just placed a few books in front of him. "Inside these are the basics that you need to know before the semester starts. It is essential that you don't stand out too much. The students will be arriving over the weekend and initiation is on Monday. You have until then to finish them. When you are done with the books let Glynda know and I'll set up a time to teach you the ins and outs of your new arm."

Naruto looked at the pile of books before him. His eye twitched at the thought of having to do nothing but study for a whole week. The titles of the books didn't help at all. _ Aura and Semblance for dummies, Dust and its Uses, Theories on the Origins of the Creatures of Grimm,_ None of the titles screamed 'Interesting read' to the blond. The last book, however, did catch his attention. It wasn't the title that caught his eye, _The Faunus; A Bloody History,_ but rather the cover itself. It was simple as far as book covers go, just a photo of two people. Naruto's eyes scrunched in confusion as he took in the extra features on the cover stars. The woman had what looked like dog ears on top of her head and the guy had a tail! He shrugged to himself before moving on. Naruto had met people with animalistic features before. Itachi's partner in the Akatsuki, whatever his name was, was pretty much half shark. The blond was, however, slightly intrigued by the title. Naruto decided he would start with that book.

Amber slapped him on the back, "Well!" she exclaimed, "Guess it's time to get studying!"

Naruto glared at the brunette. He grumbled as he collected the pile of books.

He took everything back.

This place sucks.


	3. Chapter 3

The sound of a book slamming shut was quickly followed by the sound of a head slapping against the table. Naruto groaned as he tried to process the last bit of information. He had never studied this hard in his life. Four books in five days was almost beyond his ability but with the students scheduled to begin arriving the next day he knew he was out of time. Naruto and Kurama had discussed in depth their general plan to fit in with the students that he would be surrounded with. Naruto may not have been the brightest bulb but even he realised that he wouldn't be able to run around flinging _Rasenshurikens_ at everything if he wanted to keep a low profile. After finishing the book on Aura, he and Kurama decided his best bet would be to use the _Kurama Cloak _as if it was his semblance, but him not having an Aura could pose a problem. Fortunately for Naruto, Ozpin already had a solution for that problem. Raised his human arm and looked at the small device attached in the crook of his armpit. It looked like a high tech version of the ryo coins used as currency back home. Ozpin called it an 'Artificial Aura Projection Device' ,some sort of experimental military equipment that they were using Naruto as a test fox for. The man that delivered Naruto's new arm also brought it with him. It was supposed to project an aura shield around him like the other students had but they hadn't got a chance to test it yet. Naruto had seen aura in use when Amber demonstrated it a few days before and he did admit it would be useful to have a personal shield.

Naruto stood from his chair and stretched. He let out a groan of satisfaction as he felt his spine pop. He never was one for sitting still but that seemed to be all he had done at all for the last few days. He hadn't even had anyone to talk to except for the few times Amber had stopped by to help him study. He grabbed his jacket and slipped it on. Maybe today Ozpin would let him use one of the training rooms Amber told him about.

Well, it wasn't completely true that he had been completely focused for the whole week. He did sneak out once to see if he could still summon the toads. Kurama had warned him not to get his hopes up but he knew he had to try. If the toads could get him back he would leave right away. While he would feel slightly guilty backing out of the agreement he made with Ozpin, his desire to get back home to help his friends far outweighed it and he knew that the toads could possibly do that. Unfortunately he found that no matter how much chakra he pushed out, he couldn't even get a puff of smoke. He even tried using Kurama's power to overdo the jutsu, but still nothing happened. Kurama theorized that the barrier between the worlds would disrupt the jutsu. It could even cancel his contract altogether. He really hoped that didn't happen. He cared about the toads too much to lose the contract.

Naruto shook those thoughts out of his head as he strolled toward Ozpin's office. He wasn't the type to mope over something he had no control of. He would just have to hope that Ozpin would be able to come through on his end of the bargain.

Naruto idly wondered what Ozpin meant when he said he would teach him the 'ins and outs' of his new arm. It had been a strange feeling, getting used to using a limb that wasn't his own. The biggest obstacle was figuring out how much pressure to use to hold things. He must have broken at least a dozen glasses and bowls. As it turned out, the sense of feeling was an important part of daily life. But he didn't think that's what Ozpin meant. Naruto fiddled with the arm as he walked, rubbing the bump on the top of the forearm.

Soon enough the blond found himself taking the now familiar elevator ride up to Ozpins office. He stepped out into the room to see Ozpin and Qrow arguing about something. Well, Qrow was arguing, Ozpin just looked like he always did.

"Ah Naruto!" Ozpin greeted as he walked up, "Just the person I needed to see."

"Hey gramps," Naruto returned the greeting, "I finished those stupid books, can I use the training room now?"

Ozpin chuckled in amusement and nodded, "Yes, it would be pertinent for you to know how your arm works before the initiation."

Ozpin led him back to the elevator. Qrow stepped in behind them. The black haired man didn't look happy as he appraised the blond shinobi.

**A Few Moments Earlier:**

To say Qrow Branwen was annoyed would be the understatement of the century. No, he was bordering on furious.

"How can you trust him Oz?" The raven questioned. Normally he followed Ozpins orders without question, but something about the new addition to their fold didn't sit right with him. Call it intuition or call it a sense for bad luck, either way Qrow could feel in his bones that the blond shinobi would bring more trouble on them than they already had.

"You felt it, didn't you?" Ozpin questioned, "The power that boy holds. It easily dwarfs yours, Ambers or even my own. This could be what we have been waiting for Qrow. The chance to finally beat _her _once and for all."

"And if he turns on us?" Qrow argued back, "You know well that _she_ can be very persuasive. And that doesn't even consider all of the other people that could try to use him against us."

"Do you know what I saw when you brought the boy in?" Ozpin asked, "I saw a young warrior who has reached his potential. I saw what we need. The next generation, included, have shown great promise but they are not ready, and I fear they will not be ready in time to face the threats on the horizon. You worry about if he will betray us, if he will betray your niece in particular, but to turn him away into a world that he does not know does nothing but push him closer to the grasp of those that would see our civilization fall. We cannot allow such a powerful piece to fall into _her_ hands. If all it takes to guarantee his support is our help in finding him a way home, it is a small price to pay for what could be our very salvation."

"You seem to be taking it at face value that this kid is from a different world. Sounds like a bunch of nonsense if you ask me." Qrow responded.

Ozpin sighed in dismay, "Alright Qrow, to be truthful with you, he is not the first person I've met that made such claims. Years ago another boy about his age came to me, claiming the same." Ozpin said, trying to figure out how to make Qrow trust him without giving away too much about himself, "He was able to prove himself, and eventually he left this world on his own, but while he was here he promised one day someone from his world would come to save us from ourselves. I believe Naruto could be that person."

Qrow cleaned out his flask in one long swig before closing his eyes, "Alright Ozpin." he responded, "If you feel so strongly about this, I will not argue with your decision anymore. But know that the consequences are on your head."

Ozpin looked at Qrow with years upon years of mistakes and failures showing on his face, "I know, they always are."

The elevator bell rang.

**Present:**

For the first time in a week, Naruto was truly excited. He stood in the center of a large, empty room. Placed around him were clay targets of varying sizes and shapes. Ozpin and Qrow where above him on a balcony looking down.

"Let's get to it gramps!" Naruto exclaimed impatiently. He heard the headmaster chuckle.

"Alright then." Ozpin responded, "First, flex your hand up ninety degrees and bring your ring finger down to touch your palm."

Naruto followed the headmasters instructions with his left hand, but his face fell when nothing happened.

"Other hand, idiot." he heard Qrow mock. He blew a raspberry at the observation deck. Naruto flexed his robotic hand in the manner that Ozpin described and jumped in surprise at what happened. A short blade about the length of a standard issue kunai slide out of the slit in the wrist with a deadly _schlink_. When the blade was fully out of the hand, it began to grow its own handle, complete with a small handguard. Naruto stared in slight awe as he examined the new blade, turning it over in his hand. He was no weapons expert like TenTen, but even he could see the quality in the short blade. He weighed it in his hand, noting that the balance almost perfectly matched his father special kunai, despite being a different shape.

"Alright, now put the base of the handle back against the opening on the arm." Ozpin instructed. Naruto did as he was told, and watched in amazement as the blade deconstructed itself and disappeared back into the arm. Naruto practiced removing and replacing the blade a few times before Ozpin got his attention again.

"Now, flex the hand ninety degrees down." Naruto did, "Now point your arm at one of the targets." Naruto selected a target fairly close to him and pointed his arm in line with it. "Good, now make a fist with your thumb wrapped underneath all your other fingers." Naruto followed the headmasters directions and stood for a few seconds in the new pose before Ozpin finished his instruction, "Now squeeze."

Naruto did as he was told and yelped in surprise when his arm exploded. The loud bang was followed by a ceramic crash as the target he was pointed at splintered and broke apart. The blond repeated the process with another target and this time he noticed a small fireball flare out of the bulge in the top of his arm and a small metal cylinder get ejected from the side. Naruto grinned as he continued to pulverize a few more targets. Naruto grinned like a mad man as he fired shot after shot until finally he was met not with another explosion, but a metallic clink. He looked down at the robotic arm in confusion.

"Magazines empty." Qrow announced with an amused smirk before tossing what looked like a small metal box off the observation deck. Naruto took a second to examine the box. It was filled with metallic cylinders that were a little over an inch long each. "Twist your arm counter-clockwise and jerk the elbow back."

Naruto followed the older mans instructions and watched as another box, identical to the one Qrow tossed him, slid out from underneath the metal plate on the top of the arm. The blond pulled the empty box out and replaced it with the full one.

"Alright, time to up the ante a bit." Qrow called as Ozpin hit a series of buttons on the screen on the wall beside them. Naruto grinned in excitement when hidden compartments on the walls spun open and revealed his new opponents. Dozens of identical robots marched out of the new openings. They were made of a shiny black metal with glowing red details on their face and chest. Naruto saw some, mostly the ones in the front, had long, curved blades on their arms. The ones behind the frontline had three metal tubes joined together where their hands should be.

'Probably should avoid those.' Naruto thought to himself, they looked eerily similar to the tube on his arm.

All at once the frontline of the robots charged forward. Naruto grinned as he called forth Kurama's chakra. Ozpin and Qrow watched in amazement as the golden cloak of power enveloped the blond. As the signature black marks expanded over his body, Naruto noticed offhand that the black parts of the cloak stopped before the metal arm, but the golden chakra covered it just as it did his normal hand.

Naruto grinned as he re-acclimated with his cloak. Despite having only truly used the ability once, he felt as if he had it his whole life. He shot toward the robots at a speed that his observers could barely track. The blond shinobi tore through the first wave as if they were nothing more than paper mannequins. Naruto drew his dagger and slammed it through the head of the nearest bot. Arms of golden chakra exploded from Naruto's back. Two of them grabbed a couple of robots and slammed them together in a shower of sparks. One of the bots attempted to skewer him, but caught the blade in his robotic hand. He drove the blade back through the machine and kicked it away, taking out a few more in the process. The robots closed ranks around the shinobi. Naruto used the one closest to him as a springboard to get out of the circle of machinery. The shinobi flipped away from the robots and reevaluated the situation.

'Time to put on a show.' Naruto thought mischievously. Putting as much distance between himself and the machines as he could, Naruto began to channel his chakra into his human hand. Ozpin and Qrow cringed slightly when an earsplitting screech filled the room. Naruto grinned as his personally made technique took shape in his hand. It was amazing to the blond just how much easier it had gotten to control his chakra after the giant chakra monster in his gut decided to cooperate with him. He stepped forward and let the jutsu fly at the biggest grouping of robots.

Ozpin and Qrow were left shell shocked when the technique hit the ground right in the middle of the Knight-130s and exploded in a dome of wind. The vivid blue of the _Rasenshuriken _expanded far past its original size and when it finally dissipated there was no sign any robots had ever been there. The technique left a swimming pool sized crater in the middle of the room. Seeing the destruction, Ozpin decided to cut the training session short. Another quick command sequence on the control console and all of the knights retreated back into the hidden compartments.

Qrow whistled as he leapt down from the observation deck, "Alright kid I'll admit it." he said, "That was impressive."

"That was nothing!" Naruto boasted, "A Biju bomb would have dropped this whole building."

"If you could refrain from damaging school property beyond repair, It would be greatly appreciated." Ozpin interjected, "We still need this room for the other students."

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Heh, sorry gramps. Guess I got a bit carried away."

"No worries. I'm sure Glynda can fix this without issue." Ozpin told him. Ozpin found it refreshing to see someone as strong as Naruto still be able to act his age. He was, after all, still a teenager. Albeit a super-powered one. "Just make sure you don't do that to any of the students. I doubt Aura would stop it."

A loud, animalistic rumble interrupted the three men. Ozpin and Qrow looked at the blond in amusement as he blushed crimson.

"Is it time for dinner yet?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Naruto grumbled in annoyance as he sat at one of the many empty tables in the vacant cafeteria. He glared at the food he was given, something called a caesar salad, like he was trying to cook it with nothing other than the force of his hate. Despite asking every single member of the cafeteria staff, none of them could give him any ramen! They said they didn't have it on the menu except for certain days. Naruto scoffed to himself.

'What kind of self respecting place doesn't serve ramen?' He thought.

'**This is a school, not a restaurant, Naruto.'** Kurama drawled.

'That isn't an excuse!' Naruto whined childishly to his partner.

'**Maybe they think it's better to feed their soldiers in training food that isn't full of carbs and sodium. There is no way that salt in a bowl you call food can be good for you.' **Kurama mocked.

'How dare you speak such blasphemy!' Naruto responded, offended that his friend would say such cruel things about the holy food.

'**Tch, I didn't wake up from my nap to talk about ramen,' **Kurama changed the subject. He didn't want to hear another tirade from the obsessive blond, **'Have you thought about how your going to get close to the kids you're supposed to protect?'**

'What do you mean?' Naruto questioned, 'Ozpin just said to be friends with them. I'm good enough at making friends, can't be that hard.'

'**Two of them are heirs, remember.' **Kurama added, **'You don't exactly have a good track record with heirs.'**

Kurama was right. Their were only two heirs he had ever known well enough that he thought they were friends. Of those two, one had stalked him obsessively since childhood and the other had tried to kill him on multiple different occasions.

'Eh, I'm just going to wing it.' Naruto responded, 'What's the worst that could happen.'

'**Careful with thoughts like that, brat. Never know when your luck could change.' **Kurama answered before retreating back into the seal.

Naruto picked at his food for a few minutes before sighing in boredom. In truth he couldn't wait for the other students to start arriving. Having no one to talk to had started to grate on his nerves. He wasn't a social butterfly in the same style as people like Ino, but he did still thrive on interaction with other people. When the only three people you had regular contact with were a surly drunk, an overly strict professor and an enigmatic headmaster, it was hard not to desire someone a little more fun to talk to.

Almost like the blond performed a summoning jutsu, the chair across the table from him was pulled out. A familiar brunette plopped down with her own food. Amber looked like she had been run over by a train. Her hair was dirty and disheveled and her clothes were scuffed and torn in spots.

"Woah, you ok?" Naruto asked in concern.

"Yeah," Amber answered grumpily as she angrily stabbed a piece of lettuce on her fork.

"You sure?" Naruto continued, "You look kinda mad."

Amber glared at the blond for a moment before visibly deflating. "Qrow and Ironwood weren't happy that I got caught like I did." she said, sounding far more tired than angry, "They decided to up my training. I don't think I've ever been pushed this hard in my life. They won't even let me use my Fall Maiden powers for it."

"That's not so bad!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin, "You said you want to help people right? The stronger you are, the more people you can help!"

A small smile formed on Ambers face. Naruto sure knew how to brighten the mood. "So, how has Beacon been treating you so far?"

"Beside the no ramen part, pretty good." Naruto responded. "I'm just hoping that this academy won't be as boring as the last one I went to."

"At least you'll be here as a student. You get to do the fun parts." Amber laughed, "I have to play teachers pet. For some reason, being around Glynda all day doesn't sound all that exciting."

"What kind of things do the students here do exactly?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know the specifics." Amber admitted, "I never came here as an official student. Since I was so young when I became the Fall Maiden, Ozpin decided to fast track me through all the official schooling."

Naruto nodded, "Sounds like what my home used to do for promising academy students."

"Really?" Amber asked, "What did they do?"

"If a student showed enough promise, they were allowed to take the graduation test before they actually finished in the academy." Naruto answered, "My sensei graduated when he was five."

"Only five." Amber asked in shock, "And they let him attend the secondary academy at that age."

"Oh no," Naruto answered, but Ambers sigh of relief turned into shock when he finished, "We didn't have another academy. He went into the field."

"They let a five year old go fight?" Amber asked in disgust.

"Well yea, they needed help in the war." Naruto responded, slightly confused by her change of behavior.

"They sent a five year old to war?" Amber repeated, anger seeping into her voice, "That's barbaric!"

Naruto frowned at the brunette, "Hey, what's wrong with that? He was strong enough to fight, so he did."

"He was a child!" Amber argued, "What kind of monsters would send a child to fight in a war?"

Naruto glared at her "Gramps wasn't a monster!" He pushed his chair back, causing it to flip and clatter to the ground. He paid it no attention as he stomped off.

"Naruto, wait!" Amber called after him. She stood up and followed him out of the cafeteria. She finally caught up to him a couple of hallways down where he was leaning against the wall, staring out a window over the dark courtyard.

She immediately noticed the tears flicker at the corners of his eyes. She placed her hand in the crease of his back.

"He was the only one," Naruto croaked, "I didn't even know why everyone hated me so much. But he was always there when I needed someone." Naruto felt his eyes mist over as the memories of the late third hokage assaulted him.

Amber wrapped her arms around him, "Naruto I...I'm sorry"

Naruto leaned into the embrace, allowing all of the emotions that he had bottled up since the death of the third hokage to flow out. He had told himself a long time ago that he wouldn't cry anymore, but the stress of fighting in the war, Sasuke's betrayal, being stuck in another world and having no idea if the people he cared about were safe all hit him at the same time.

"When I finally found out, I was so angry at him." Naruto said between hiccups.

"Naruto you don't have to explain," Amber consoled him.

"No, I do." Naruto rebutted, breaking away, "You told me your story. It's only fair I tell you mine too." Naruto took a deep breath before continuing, "My home has what we call the 'Tailed Beasts'. They are nine beings of incredible power. The day I was born, one of them attacked my village. We called it the Nine-Tailed Fox. The Tailed-Beast could not be killed by normal means, so to save the village, the Fourth Hokage had to seal it inside a newborn. Since the Hokage was my dad, he chose me."

Amber listened intently as he continued, "He wanted me to be a hero, but the villagers didn't see it that way. They hated me because I reminded them of what they lost in the attack. But whenever I was sad or angry, I could always trust the Third Hokage to be there. I'll always remember what he told me. 'The Will of Fire is the bond that holds the village together.' That was what I wanted to be, the one who could end the useless cycle of hatred."

Naruto stared out into the darkness as he finished his story.

"You know, I didn't tell you my whole story." Amber said, but when Naruto turned to her she blushed in embarrassment, "It's not as...uh...heavy as yours though."

Naruto smiled at the brunette, "I still want to hear it."

"Well, ok." she stated bashfully, "I was raised in an orphanage here in Vale. It wasn't a normal childhood but it wasn't that bad either. The matron was kind and I had plenty of friends. But then, one day on the way back from school I ran across a cat stuck on the roof of a building. It seemed so scared, and I can remember wishing I could fly so I could help it. The matron of the orphanage always said that we could do anything as long as we tried hard enough. Little me really took that to heart I guess. So I tried and tried to fly, and all of a sudden, I did. Ozpin pulled me out of the orphanage the next day and brought me to Beacon to start my training. Sometimes I look back and wonder how it would have been different if I never stopped that day. Maybe I would just be a normal girl with a normal life,"

"Eh, normal is overrated." Naruto said with a grin.

"Yeah, I guess it is." Amber giggled, "We should probably turn in. Your assignment starts tomorrow."

Naruto groaned.

**ELSEWHERE**

Karin had been loyal to Sasuke for a long time, but she had never seen him this obsessed. After he fled the site of the fourth shinobi war, the last Uchiha went into hiding. However, he forgot that the rest of Team Taka _knew_ the locations of all of his hideouts. The five kage did not forget. The three members of Taka were easily overpowered and Karin had been unlucky enough to overhear some of the guards talking about her appointment with Konoha's T&I experts. She had known she should have expected it. Suigetsu was made of water and attempted interrogation on Jugo would likely not end well. She was the weak link of the team. Sasuke did remember his former team eventually and he did come for them. This time, however, he did not come as a saviour. She watched as he executed both Suigetsu and Jugo in their cells, before taking her back to one of the hideouts. According to him, she still had use. Her healing and her abilities as a sensor were still useful to his plans. So she was safe, for now.

Karin half-expected Sasuke to immediately go on a rampage against all five of the major villages, but she didn't expect his desire to end the threat his former teammate posed to him to be quite so great. He had pulled back completely on the idea of fighting the villages themselves and was focusing every resource he had into finding Naruto. She was being forced to heal him every few hours when he dropped of exhaustion from using the _Rinnegan _almost non-stop as he scoured the planet for his blond rival.

She thought about making a run for it. All the things she had seen and done in the build up and the fighting in the war had made her finally see just how deranged the last Uchiha had become. But she also knew that betrayal meant death, and the only person who could protect her was nowhere to be found.

Karin had never had an easy life, but she did always have one thing. From her days in Kusa to following Sasuke with Team Taka, she could always hope that things would eventually be better for them, for her.

Now that hope was gone. She knew her time was coming quickly. All of the loyalty, the love she felt for the raven haired shinobi meant nothing in the end. Now all she could do is wait.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: I just realized I haven't done any of these for this story yet. This will probably be the last chapter of this story for a couple of weeks. My college classes start back up Monday and I'll need to get readjusted to the workload, on top of getting the other story on my profile back up and running. Also, a poll for the pairing of this story is up, because I apparently can't make a decision on it to save my life.**

"Soooo, First day of school. You excited?"

Naruto looked at Amber with a deadpan stare.

"Oh yea, just what I've been looking forward too. Nothing like listening to old geezers talk about the past." Naruto responded. Amber grinned at him before pinching one of his whiskered cheeks.

"You better study hard!" She mocked, "I expect you to be at the top of the class."

Naruto slapped her hand away with a pout. The two stared at each other for a second before they both burst into laughter.

"Any plans before the other first years start arriving?" Amber asked.

"Nah," Naruto responded, rubbing his neck, "I was just going to hang out in the courtyard. Maybe go annoy Ozpin for a while."

"No need," Ozpin said as he stepped out into the warm morning sun, "I had a few things to discuss with you anyway."

"Hey Ozzy." "Hey gramps." The two teens greeted in unison.

"I believe Glynda is looking for you, Amber." Ozpin addressed the maiden, "Something about lesson plans for the next few weeks."

Amber rolled her eyes and groaned, but nonetheless started toward the building. "Guess I'll see you later, Naruto."

Naruto waved as she walked away. Ozpin got his attention back with a snap, "I just needed to make sure you know what is expected of you before the students begin arriving."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the older man, "You said I was supposed to protect them, unless that changed."

Ozpin chuckled, "No, it didn't," Ozpin pushed his glasses up on his face and turned to look out at the school grounds, "But I need you to make sure you don't baby any of them. While it is true that they could be very important in the long run, the whole point of this academy is to train future Huntsmen and Huntresses. They should be allowed to make their own mistakes. After all, one cannot advance if they never face danger. They must have the need, the desire, to advance beyond their supposed limits before they can grow into the people they will need to be. But I'm sure you already know this."

Naruto nodded, "So, what your saying is…?"

"Watch over them, but do not fight their battles for them." Ozpin advised, "While I'm sure you're more than capable of handling any threat that may come their way, doing so would only hinder them in the long run."

Naruto tilted his head to the side, "So, You're saying protect them, but don't protect them too much because that wouldn't be protecting them in the future."

Ozpin chuckled, "Just make sure they don't die. Don't fight their battles for them."

Naruto nodded in understanding as Ozpin continues, "By the way, I had the chance to speak to Ms. Rose a few nights ago. She is quite the agreeable girl. I believe the two of you will get along quite well."

"Ok." Naruto responded, not quite sure what to think about that, '_Please don't be another old perv'_

"The students should be arriving within the hour. When they arrive you should join them in the courtyard for the arrival speech. Glynda will give the instructions on what to do after that. Unfortunately you will not be able to return to the room you have been using. After orientation you will be assigned a new room." Ozpin told him, "Oh, and don't be surprised if Ruby and her sister recognize your name. I told Qrow to let it slip that he had been training an apprentice. Just a little more cover for your presence."

"Alright, got it!" Naruto gave the headmaster a thumbs up as he walked away.

Naruto strolled out into the courtyard. It was a nice, warm morning so he decided to spend some time outside before the students arrived. The blond shinobi found a nice patch of grass near the landing area and sat down cross legged. The blond cleared his mind as he felt the nature chakra around pulled it into himself, just as he had so many times before. He had forgotten just how calming it was to meditate.

He scoffed in his head. If anyone had told him when he was a child that he liked to meditate in his down time, he would have called them crazy. But he did. Naruto stretched his senses out as far as they could go. He could feel the blades of grass and the ants and bugs that lived in it. Looking farther, he could feel the professors and the staff of the school.

Naruto paused as he felt a huge source of nature recognized the signature as his brunette friend. As it turned out, he wasn't wrong when he felt nature chakra within the girl after he woke up. It always surprised him how nature chakra just poured off of the girl. He figured it probably had something to do with her maiden power, but he would have to look a little further into it. If the story she had told him was true, it would make sense. A spirit could possibly bless people with the ability to naturally gather and use nature chakra. But still, it didn't feel like she was absorbing the energy, it felt like she was _creating_ it.

As far as he knew, that should be impossible. Pa had said that nature chakra was produced by the world around them. The thought that there were people out there who could create it as well was slightly worrying. The fact that the power wasn't exactly the same as the energy he was pulling in from the world also worried him. The energy being created by the brunette maiden felt clean, it felt pure, like the natural energy back home had felt. But the energy he could pull in from the world now felt tainted, almost like the world was angry about something. It felt similar to how he remembered Kuramas chakra from before he ridded the beast of his hate, though the natural energy was nowhere near as dense with hatred as the bijus power had been.

Naruto was broken from his thoughts when the wind kicked up around him. He sighed as he gently pushed the nature chakra he had been gathering back out into the soil around him. The blond cracked his eyes open to see one of the bullheads begin to dock. The door opened and a sea of color poured out from within.

Naruto pushed himself off the ground and began walking toward the approaching students. He felt kind of bad that he was going to be forming what was, in his mind, so many fake friendships. He had decided without Ozpins input that he didn't care if they knew his secrets. He wasn't planning on bringing it up, but he also didn't plan on lying to them if they asked. As far as he was concerned, Ozpins little background story was only for those outside of the school, so the other governments didn't know a human superweapon was attending the prestigious school.

The blond shinobi observed the crowd for a moment, trying to spot any of the four people he had been entrusted with. His luck held up as he noticed a mop of blond hair run off of one of the ships and directly to a trash can. As Naruto approached the boy, he took in his appearance. The boy appeared quite tall, standing almost even with Naruto himself. He wore a black shirt and a pair of blue jeans. Over the shirt he wore a few pieces of random armor on his chest and arms. On his side was a sword, probably the most normal looking weapon Naruto had seen since his arrival.

Naruto patted the boy on the back as he leaned over the trash can.

"You alright? You're looking a bit rough." He asked.

Jaune stood stiff as a rod at the new voice. He turned with an awkward chuckle. "Yea, I'm fine. Thanks." The boy pushed his hair out of his face and stuck out his hand, trying to regain some semblance of dignity around his fellow blond. "Names Jaune, Jaune Arc."

Naruto chuckled as he accepted the handshake, "Naruto Uzumaki at your service!"

Jaune went to respond, but felt another wave of nausea hit. He bent back over the trash can and lost the rest of whatever he had eaten that day. After he finished, he turned his head back to Naruto and smiled sheepishly, "Can you please not tell anyone about this?"

Naruto grinned and opened his mouth just as a huge explosion sent a shockwave through the courtyard. He glanced over in the direction of the blast before turning back to Jaune, "Wanna go check that out?"

"Sure," Jaune responded, happy at the change of subject away from his motion sickness.

**EARLIER**

"I can't believe my little sister is going to Beacon with me!" Yang exclaimed as she attempted to squeeze the life out of her little sister.

'Yang, air!" Ruby gasped as her sister thrashed her about like Zwei with one of his toys.

Yang dropped her, "Sorry! I'm just so excited! Aren't you?"

"Of course I am," Ruby responded, "I get to go to Beacon two years early. But what if no one likes me, what if they think I'm special because I got in early." The two tone girl started to panic as she overthought her situation.

"You are special!" Yang admonished, "Face it sis, you're going to be the bees knees!"

"But I don't want to be the bees knees!" Ruby cried, "I don't want to be any kind of knees! I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees."

Yang hugged her sister's shoulder comfortingly, "Come on now, it'll be alright."

Ruby and Yang were cut off when a hologram popped up over the news story that had been playing. The blonde woman in the picture promptly addressed the students.

"Hello, and welcome to Beacon," the hologram said.

"Who is that?" Yang asked.

"My name is Glynda Goodwitch,"

"Oh,"

"You are among a privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy! Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and the training to protect our world." Glynda's image flickered and faded after she finished her speech. Ruby and Yang looked at each other confused until something else caught Rubys' attention. The young girl ran to the bullhead window in glee, "Look Yang! You can see Signal from here." Ruby closed her eyes in happiness as she continued.

"Wow, I guess we're not that far from home after all." Ruby said, awed.

"Well, Beacons our home now sis." Yang said as she hugged her sister's shoulder again.

Ruby smiled at her sister just as another person ran behind them, vomiting everywhere.

"Well, I guess the view isn't for everyone." Yang said, mockingly.

"Uh, Yang," Ruby said queasily as she pointed down to Yangs feet, "You got some on your shoe."

Yang looked down, "EEEWWW," She cried, "Get it off!" Yang tried to grab at the bottom of Rubys' cloak, "Let me use this!"

Ruby squirmed out of her grasp and ran, "Yang no!"

"Ruby, help your loving sister!" the blonde cried as she chased the smaller girl. The two ran in circles as the blond chased the red-tipped girl. Yang tried as hard as she could to catch her sister, but Ruby kept using her semblance to stay just out of reach. The sisters stopped as they felt the tell-tale jerk that told them the bullhead had docked. The two stepped out with the crowd and Rubys' eyes widened in awe. Beacon was magnificent, more like a castle from one of the stories than a school.

The younger girl looked around as something else caught her attention, "Yang look! That guy has a collapsible staff! Ooh, and she's got a fire sword!" Ruby gushed over the multitude of different weapons.

"Alright, Easy there," Yang interrupted, "They're just weapons."

"Just weapons!?" Ruby looked scandalized. In her eyes, Yang had just committed blasphemy, "They're an extension of ourselves! They are a part of who we are! Ooooh they're so cool!"

"Yea, well," Yang replied, "Can't you just fawn over your own? Aren't you happy with it."

Ruby looked shocked as she unfolded her scythe and hugged it close to her body, "Of course I'm happy with Crescent Rose, I just really like seeing new ones. It's like meeting new people, only better." She trailed off awkwardly as she finished speaking.

"Well, why don't you go try to make some friends of your own? No time like the present." Yang encouraged.

"Why would I need to meet anyone else?" Ruby asked, confused, "I've got you here."

"Weelll actually," Yang sang as people walked up to them, "My friends are here! Gotta go, have fun little sis!"

"W-wait! Where are we supposed to go? Where are our dorms? Do we have dorms?" Ruby called after her sister, but she went ignored as Yang went off with her group of friends.

The girl pouted as her sister abandoned her. She went to follow her sister, but caught her boot on something and tumbled to the ground. Ruby looked around in confusion as she lay on the ground, surrounded by luggage. The girl reached out and picked up a suitcase that had popped open on the ground. Inside were vials of different colored dust.

"What are you doing!?" A high pitched voice called. Ruby looked up in a panic to see a girl in a white dress with red accents on the inside. "Give me that!"

The girl snatched the case away from Ruby and angrily examined the containers inside.

"I'm sorry," Ruby squeaked.

"Sorry!? Do you know what this is?" The girl questioned her, "This is dust, mined directly from the Schnee quarry!" Ruby looked at the girl in confusion as she ripped one of the vials out of the case. She began shaking the vial at her as she continued, "You know, Dust! Fire, water, lightning, energy!"

The red powder filled the air as the girl continued berating Ruby. The younger girl felt the dust tickle her nose and tried desperately not to sneeze.

"Are you even listening to me? What do you have to say for yourself?" the girl continued, ignorant to the teens plight. Finally, it got to the point where she couldn't hold it in anymore. Ruby sneezed and ignited the dust, causing an explosion to billow out and cover the white haired girl.

The girl looked shocked as the explosion died down. She didn't notice the vial role away as she stewed in anger.

"Ugh! This is exactly what I was afraid would happen! Aren't you a little young to be here? This isn't your ordinary combat school, only the best of the best are allowed to be here!" the girl ranted.

"Well sorry, princess!" Ruby was getting annoyed by the older girl, "I-"

Ruby was cut off when another voice joined the conversation, "It's heiress, actually."

Both Ruby and the other girl whipped around to look at the newcomer. She was taller than either of them and wore a large, black bow on her head. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. One of the largest suppliers of energy propellant on the planet."

"Finally some recognition!" Weiss announced haughtily.

"The same company known for its poor working conditions, oppressed labor force and questionable business dealings." the bow wearing girl continued.

Weiss quickly went from prideful to offended, "Wha? How dare you!" the white haired girl yanked her dust away from the ravenette and stormed away.

Ruby had stars in her eyes from how easily the girl had made the angry heiress leave. She turned to say something, but noticed the girl already leaving.

Ruby slumped to her knees and laid back on the ground, "Welcome to Beacon…" she muttered to herself. She laid there, eyes closed, for a moment before something poked her in the side. She cracked her eyes open to see a blond boy prodding her side with the tip of his boot.

"See, I told you she wasn't dead!" the boy exclaimed joyfully.

"I never said she was?" Ruby saw another boy step around the one kicking her. The two looked like brothers. The second one reached his hand down to her, "Hey, you ok?"

Ruby accepted his hand and was pulled to her feet, "Yea, I'm fine."

"I'm Jaune, and this is Naruto." he said. The other boy waved at her with a dopey grin on his face.

"I'm Ruby," She waved back at Naruto over Jaunes shoulder before looking at the latter, "Have I seen you somewhere before?"

"N-no!" Jaune said nervously.

"I'm sure I...Oh! Aren't you the one who threw up on the ship!" Ruby realized.

"No!" Jaune declined.

"Yes he was!" Naruto sold out his fellow blond, "He was blowing chunks in the garbage when I found him." Jaunes shoulders slumped as he trudged away with both of the other two following him.

The two walked around the courtyard of the school with no real destination in mind. 'Shouldn't we be going to the entrance?' Naruto thought offhand, but didn't say anything as he followed the other two.

"I'm just saying, motion sickness is a very common problem!" Jaune argued as they walked.

"Look, I'm sorry!" Ruby said back, "Vomit boy is the first thing that came to mind."

"Yea? Well what if I called you crater face?" Jaune shot back.

"Hey! That explosion was an accident!" Ruby cried.

"Anyway, the names Jaune Arc, short, sweet, rolls off the tongue, ladies love it!" Jaune said with as much confidence as he could muster.

Naruto snorted, "Is that really your opening line?"

Jaune looked affronted at Naruto's criticism, "Oh and I bet you have something so much better!"

Naruto grinned like a fox. He hopped up on one foot and held his hand out in front of him, "I am the great lord Naruto Uzumaki! Loved and adored by all!"

Jaune looked confused but Ruby burst into a fit of giggles, "I like his more." She told Jaune.

The armored boy crossed his arms, "Everyones a critic!"

Naruto walked around Ruby and poked the red box strapped to her back, "What is that?"

Ruby beamed as she pulled the package off of her back. Naruto jumped in surprise as the thing unfolded in the petite girls hands.

"Is that a scythe?" Jaune asked.

"It's also a high-Impact sniper rifle!" Ruby proclaimed proudly.

Naruto and Jaune shared a confused look, which made Ruby continue, "It's also a gun."

"That's so cool!" Naruto said, "I've only met one person who used a scythe."

Ruby looked interested before something clicked in her head, "Wait, you said your name is Naruto Uzumaki?" when Naruto nodded she continued, "You're Uncle Qrow's apprentice?"

"That miserable drunk is your uncle?" Naruto asked. He almost sighed at his lucky break. He was actually thinking of that one psycho Akatsuki member. How was he supposed to know Qrow used a scythe, he had never seen him fight.

"Yea, that's Uncle Qrow for sure." Ruby mumbled.

Ruby broke out of her funk when she glanced at the sword on Jaunes waist, "Oooh, what does your sword do?"

Jaune hesitantly drew it, "It's just a sword. But the scabbard can fold out into a shield, and fold back when I'm tired of carrying it."

"But wouldn't it weigh the same?" Ruby asked.

"Y-yea, it does." Jaune answered.

"Well, not enough people appreciate the classics," Ruby said comfortingly before turning to Naruto, "What do you have?"

"I've got everything I need right here!" the whiskered blond said as he gave the girl a thumbs up with his right hand.

Ruby had stars in her eyes as she grabbed his arm, "Oh! Is this Atlas tech! What comes out of the slit? Is this a gun barrel? What caliber is it?"

Naruto was weirded out as he tried to answer, "Um, I don't know, a dagger, yes and whatever these are." Naruto pulled out the spare magazine that Qrow had given him and handed it to Ruby, who looked at it intently.

"These are 10mm rounds, an uncommon choice but really good for short to medium range. They offer better range and ballistics than the smaller self defense calibers while being more controllable than the larger magnums!" Ruby realized that both the boys were looking at her oddly, "Hehe, sorry, I really like weapons."

"We can tell," Naruto said.

"I guess I went a little overboard in designing Crescent Rose." She stated bashfully.

"You made that?" Jaune asked, impressed.

"Well, yea." Ruby answered, "Every student at Signal designs their own weapons. Didn't you guys?"

"Mine was a hand me down," Jaune admitted, "My great-great-grandfather used it in the war."

"Mine was a gift after I lost my arm," Naruto half-lied, "I'm not really sure who built it."

"Wait thats your arm?" Jaune asked.

"Yep!" Naruto answered as he rolled up his sleeve farther to show the entire arm.

"That's soooo coool!" Ruby squealed, "I always say that our weapons are a part of us, but yours really is!"

Naruto grinned at her enthusiasm. Unfortunately Jaune decided to ruin the fun, "Do you guys know where we're going?"

"I was following you!" Ruby admitted.

"I think we were supposed to go to the entrance, but we passed it a while ago." Naruto confirmed.

"Weren't we supposed to be there for a speech?" Jaune asked.

The three looked at each other in panic.

"It's this way, follow me!" Naruto said as he ran off. Janue and Ruby looked at each other before chasing after him.

"Wait up!" Ruby called.

Naruto ignored her as he dashed into the entrance courtyard for the school, but almost ran into the crowd of people waiting there. Ruby caught up to him quickly, looking no worse for wear, but Jaune was huffing in exhaustion when he finally got there.

"We better find a spot," Naruto said, rubbing the back of his head.

Ruby went to respond, but was cut off.

"Ruby! Over here! I saved you a spot." Yang called from across the yard.

"Oh, I gotta go. See you later Naruto, Jaune." she told them as she walked to where her sister was standing.

"Oh man, where are we gonna find another nice, quirky girl to talk to?" Jaune asked.

Naruto chuckled and slapped him on the back before walking into the crowd. Jaune followed him as closely as he could until they finally found a spot big enough for both of them to stand comfortably. Naruto twisted around to try to get a little more space when he felt resistance against his artificial arm. He looked down and noticed that a book had fallen to the ground. He reached down to get it, but was met with another hand.

Naruto looked up in surprise, and blushed in embarrassment when he realized his face was mere inches from the others. He looked deep into the shockingly amber eyes and jerked back. He handed her the book back as they both stood up.

"Sorry about that!" Naruto said, his nervous tick of rubbing his neck coming back, "Still getting used to this thing." The blond motioned to his arm.

"Not a problem," The black haired girl said before she opened the book and began reading.

"Names Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki." He held out his hand to the black haired girl, but noticed her bow twitch in his peripherals as she ignored his handshake.

"Blake Belladonna, charmed." Blake responded before choosing to ignore him in favor of her book again. Naruto sweatdropped as she turned away from him, but he chose to turn back to the stage as he noticed Ozpin move up to the microphone.

The silver haired headmaster looked distracted as he walked up, "I'll...keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge-to hone your craft and acquire new skills. And when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose – direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."  
Ozpin finished his speech and walked away without looking at the crowd of people.

"Hey, did that seem a bit off to you?" Jaune nudged his fellow blond.

"Yea. He sounded distracted." Naruto answered, "Maybe he's got an important meeting or something?"

Jaune shrugged his shoulders. Naruto turned his attention back to the stage as Professor Goodwitch took the center, "Tonight, all of you will be staying in the ballroom. Each of you have been assigned a locker to store any personal belongings. Tomorrow you are expected at the cliffs at seven a.m. sharp for initiation. Have a good night, and welcome to Beacon."

"Well that was straightforward." Naruto commented, "Come on, ball room is this way."

Naruto led his friend into the building and straight to the ballroom. Luckily for him, Jaune didn't stop to think about why another first year student knew his way around so well.

Naruto strutted into the ballroom and immediately claimed a sleeping bag close to the corner. Juane followed behind him, uneasily, and selected a bag right beside his friend.

"I think I'm going to head back outside for a while," Naruto said, "It's a bit stuffy in here."

"Ok," Jaune nodded, "I'm going to go find the lockers that professor told us about."

Naruto waved at him as they parted ways. The blond shinobi weaved his way back through the crowd of people that were now piling into the ballroom. When he finally fought his way back out of the building he was surprised to see just how quickly the sun had begun to set. He went to walk back to his meditation spot from that morning, but paused as he noticed someone sitting on the half wall near the bullhead dock.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly in recognition has he observed the girl. The setting sun reflected off of her crimson hair, causing it to take on a fiery sheen. When it combined with the glare off of the bronze armor the girl wore, it made her appear almost divine. Despite this, the girl appeared distraught. Honestly, Naruto thought she looked like she didn't want to be there at all.

"Hey, are you ok?" the blond asked as he approached, but no answer came as the girl continued staring off the cliff. Naruto looked concerned as he walked up beside her. He reached out and patted her on the shoulder, breaking her out of her trance.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did you say something?" the girl asked.

"Just if you are ok," Naruto asked again, "You looked a little out of it."

"I'm fine, thank you." she responded.

"Well, if you need to talk about it, I'm a pretty good listener." Naruto grinned, "The names Naruto Uzumaki, by the way."

The girl smiled softly at him, "Pyrrha Nikos," She introduced herself before finishing in a mumble, "but I'm sure you already knew that."

"So, why are you out here all alone?" Naruto asked.

"I just needed a minute," Pyrrha responded. "It gets tiring being the center of attention all the time."

"Oh," Naruto stated as he remembered what he read on her profile, "You're the Mistrali champion, aren't you."

Pyrrha visibly deflated at his comment, "Yea, that's me." she said, "If you want an autograph, I need a pen."

"What? Why would I want an autograph?" Naruto asked in confusion, "You were a champion on the junior circuit, right? That isn't even the big leagues."

Pyrrha smiled at him despite his harsh words, "Not everyone sees it that way. I've already been asked out fifteen times by fans since we arrived. That doesn't even count the paparazzi at the bullhead dock down in Vale."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Well, If they won't take the time to actually get to know you, I will. So, who is Pyrrha Nikos?"

Pyrrha smiled again, but this one seemed different. Naruto could have sworn he saw a light come on behind the girls emerald eyes.

"Well, I was born in Mistral and I've lived their my entire life. Everyone has always told me I was destined to be great, that my success in the circuit was only the beginning. During my training at Sanctum and my competitive career everyone kept looking at me like I was supposed to be the best in the world. Honestly, that's why I came here to Beacon instead of going to Haven. Maybe it was naive, but I was hoping here I could just be normal."

Naruto patted her shoulder comfortably. He could empathize with the girl. It seemed to him that she had the exact opposite problem that he had. He had been hated, and it sometimes felt like he was suffocating under all of the attention. It was why he spent so much time outside of the village when he was a kid. She must have felt the same, though it was the expectation on her that kept her bogged down. Nevertheless, he knew exactly what she was feeling. "So you came here so you could stop being 'Pyrrha the champion' and start being 'Pyrrha the girl', right." he commented.

Pyrrha looked like a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders as he continued, "Well, let me be the first to say it. It's nice to meet you Pyrrha, I hope we can be friends."

This time, Pyrrha truly smiled at him, "I would like that, Naruto."

The blond grinned widely at her before looking around. He had been so focused that he didn't even notice that the sun had gone down completely, leaving the two teens in the dark, "We should probably get inside before they lock us out or something. I would prefer not to sleep outside."

"You go ahead, I'm going to stay out here for a few minutes to look at the stars." Pyrrha responded, "I'll see you tomorrow?" the girl asked hopefully.

"You bet," Naruto responded, "We're friends now. You can't get rid of me that easily."

He left the redhead to her thoughts as he wandered back into the building. As he approached the ballroom, he caught the sound of a commotion. Slipping in, he saw Ruby and her sister talking with that Blake girl that he had met earlier. Naruto stopped over to them and slapped Ruby on the back hard enough to cause her to stumble into Yang.

"Heh, whoops." Naruto said, "Guess I don't know my own strength."

"Naruto!" Ruby exclaimed, "Where did you go?"

"Eh, just around," Naruto told her.

Ruby looked confused at him, but recovered quickly, "Oh, this is my sister, Yang. Yang this is the guy I told you about, with the metal arm."

Yang moved to stand in front of him. Naruto stood completely still. For some reason the way she was sizing him up made him uncomfortable, like she was a lion stalking her prey. After a moment Yang stepped back, "Nice choice, sis, easily an 8!" She exclaimed.

Ruby blushed to match her cloak and sputtered "W-what!? It's not like that!"

Yang grinned at her "Suuuure it's not," she teased, "I'm so happy my little Rubes is finally taking an interest in boys!"

Ruby turtled up inside her cloak, trying desperately to escape Yangs teasing. Blake cleared her throat and looked up at the sister, "If you're going to be loud, can you do it somewhere else. I'm trying to read."

Ruby poked out of her cloak, looking interested, "What's it about?" she asked.

Blake cocked an eyebrow at her, so the younger girl continued, "Your book? What's it about?"

"A man with two souls, both fighting for dominance of his body." The bow wearing girl answered.

Naruto looked intrigued at the idea, and he heard Kurama scoff inside his head. He remembered being at the Fall of Truth and facing his inner self, maybe it was something like that.

"I've always loved books." Ruby addressed Blake, "Yang used to read to me before bed. I loved the stories about heroes and monsters. That's why I want to be a huntress, so I can be like them."

Blake looked at her amusedly, "What, you're hoping you'll live happy ever after?"

"I hope we all will," Ruby said, "As a girl, I wanted to be just like the heroes in the books, someone who fought for what was right and helped people who couldn't help themselves!"

Naruto looked at Ruby with a raised eyebrow as Blake responded, "That's very ambitious, but the real world isn't the same as a fairy tale."

"Well that's why we're here." Ruby argued, "To make it better."

Naruto wrapped his arm around the younger girls shoulder, "I think you're right, Ruby." he said, "If everyone thought like you, the world would be a much better place."

Ruby smiled at him, but grunted when Yang started squeezing the life out of her again, "I'm so proud of my little sister!" The blonde girl shouted.

Their fun was cut short when another voice cut into the conversation, "Excuse me! Some people are trying to sleep!"

Yang whipped around to face the newcomer, "You again!" She shouted at the white haired girl.

Ruby tried to calm her sister down, "Yang, Weiss is right, some people are trying to sleep."

"Oh, Now you're on my side." Weiss said sarcastically.

Ruby looked affronted, "I was always on your side!"

"What's your problem with my sister?" Yang growled.

"She's a hazard to my health!" Weiss responded.

Naruto quickly walked away, not wanting any part of the argument. When he climbed back into his sleeping bag on the other side of the room, he noticed Jaune already snoring away.

'I wonder how everyone back home is doing.' He thought as the last lights went out for the night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Ozpin smiled as he heard Rubys' declaration of her dream over the security camera. It was almost frightening how much alike the girl was with her mother. The silver haired headmaster turned his attention back to the blond boy that he had entrusted what might've been their very future too. It was strange, how the boy turned up just as he was needed, just like the one before him had.

Ozpin, no, Ozma remembered when he had arrived. He and Salem were at the absolute height of their power together, then _he_ arrived, and with him, a power that made both of the pretend gods look like mere children in comparison. In their arrogance they believed themselves unbeatable. He had proven otherwise. And to think, even then, he claimed himself to be weaker than his mother or brother.

All those years ago, the man had spoken of a prophecy in his home. That one day a boy would come to bring peace to both worlds. Now Ozpin could only hold onto the hope that the man spoke true. That the time had finally come for him to be able to lay down his curse and finally be free.

Ozpin held in head in his hands as all of the painful memories that occurred since that day came back. He wanted desperately to be able to be truly honest with those that followed him with such devotion, but he could not bring himself to do it. He had seen the results of such honesty too many times.

'I trusted you then, and you did not disappoint,' Ozpin thought to himself, 'Now the time has come to trust you again. If this boy is the same that you spoke of all those years ago, then we are in good hands, Hamura.'


	5. Chapter 5

"What do they even want you for anyway?"

The woman shrugged nonchalantly, "Just said they needed a licensed huntress. I just have to sign my name on a dotted line and stand on stage for their little ceremony," she said, "That much lien for an afternoons worth of work isn't something I'm gonna pass up."

The man looked at his companion, concern evident in his eyes, "You sure this is a good idea? Something about that woman doesn't sit right with me. If she's up to something, it could come back to bite you in the ass later."

The woman grinned at him, "The same could be said about our line of work, but that doesn't stop us." she responded, "Come on. It's 100,000 Lien for one day of work then we never have to see 'em again. What's the worst that could happen?"

* * *

The first thing Naruto noticed when he awoke was the crushing darkness that seemed to loom around the quiet ballroom. He wasn't surprised that he woke up so much earlier than everyone else. Quiet as a mouse, he snuck out of his sleeping bag and across the room to the exit. As he padded down the hallway, he couldn't help but think about the situation he found himself in. The blond shinobi was, for once, extremely grateful for Kurama. Without the Biju, he would be totally at a loss for how he should proceed.

Naruto stopped briefly at the locker he had been assigned and retrieved a small, orange notebook out of it before quickly leaving the building. The morning was cool and crisp, an odd mirror to what he was used to at this time of year. He strolled down to the same patch of grass he had meditated on before and made himself as comfortable as he could.

The displaced shinobi cracked open the notebook and took stock of what he had accomplished since his arrival in this new world. On the first page was a very basic storage seal, one of the first he had been taught.

Naruto would not go so far as to call him a seal master. Compared to Jiraiya, he was only a child playing with crayons. The old perverted toad had tried to teach him, and to a point he succeeded, but Naruto lacked one of the basic necessities for the art, patience. Naruto had never been one to sit still, until his training for senjutsu from the toads. Something like seals just didn't interest him all that much. Jiraiya had stopped trying to teach him when he stopped paying attention during one session and almost brought down the hotel they had been staying at.

He had thought about taking up the art again after he finished his sage training, if for no other reason than to honor his old sensei, but life had gotten in the way. After Nagatos defeat at the aptly named 'Battle of Konoha', things had spiraled out of control quickly. In the buildup to the war, the blond jinchuriki could not spare the time to try to relearn all of the basics that he had forgotten. Even worse was that he didn't even have the scroll that Jiraiya had left him, so he had to pretty much wing it from memory. He could almost hear Jiraiyas nagging at him for that very thing. When he thought back to the three years of training he had with the white haired sage, only two things really stood out, getting abandoned for peeping and how angry Jiraiya got when he didn't take his seal lessons seriously.

He regretted that now. Naruto knew he only had two ways to get back home. He either had to hope Ozpin came through or he had to recreate his father's technique. There were two problems with the former. One, Naruto wasn't the type of person to sit around and do nothing while other people fixed his problems. The other was Kurama. The longer the two had spent in Remnant, the more and more suspicious the tailed beast grew of the silver haired headmaster. Naruto himself didn't see the problem. Neither him nor Kurama could sense any negative intent from the man. But still, his partner insisted that Ozpin was hiding something from him.

The latter of his options also came with its own issues. The biggest one being that he had to reverse-engineer one of the most complicated seals in history. Of all the other seals he knew of, only the _Shiki Fujin _was more complex than the _Hiraishin_. Naruto wasn't a good student, but growing up, he idolized the Fourth Hokage. The history lecture on his father was the only one he really paid attention to in the academy. So when he learned from Jiraiya that even the self-proclaimed seal master toad sage himself couldn't even begin to make heads or tails of the fourths legendary technique, it had shocked him. Jiraiya had admitted to him that his father had completely and totally surpassed his master in every aspect of being a shinobi.

It made his self-imposed task that much more daunting. How was he, someone with only very basic knowledge of seals, supposed to do something the man that was once the greatest seal master in the world couldn't do. But he had to try. Naruto still had what was left of his father's knife, and he had been able to salvage a little of the seal.

But Naruto knew he had to try. So, as he had studied what he needed to know from the books Ozpin gave him, he had shadow clones creating the notebook that held everything he remembered from Jiraiyas teachings.

Now he was trying to add to it. Luckily for him, Kurama also had a basic understanding of some seals. The fox said he had picked some up by proxy while he was sealed inside Kushina.

Between the two of them, they were able to fill the notebook with a whopping four seals. They included a storage seal, a low yield explosive tag, a basic suppression seal and a seal made to conduct electricity.

A lesser man would have given up. It had taken Minato Namikaze years to develop his version of the _Hiraishin, _and that was with an in-depth understanding of seals and the already existing works by the Second Hokage. To even attempt it with less-than-beginner knowledge of seals and nothing to learn from was a fools task. But Naruto couldn't stomach the thought of not at least trying.

Naruto was so lost in his own world that he never noticed someone creep up behind him. He was completely unprepared when something stabbed into the dirt beside him. Naruto jumped unceremoniously as he examined the item. Naruto had never seen such a fancy looking weapon before, except maybe the scythe that Ruby carried. The spear was made from a mixture of bronze and red metals and looked as beautiful as it did deadly. Naruto's vision trailed up the shaft of the spear up to its owner.

Pyrrha looked sheepish as she saw the blond boy jump at her actions, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." She said as she sat down beside him. The redheaded girl crossed her legs and leaned back, using her embedded spear as a make-shift backrest.

"No problem," Naruto responded with a grin, "I guess I was a little too focused."

"What's that?" the redheaded girl asked curiously as she motioned toward the book.

"Just a journal," Naruto said dismissively, "I was just keeping track of some personal projects."

Pyrrha nodded in understanding. Naruto slipped the journal into his jacket pocket and laid back against the dirt, "So, have a good night?" Naruto almost cringed at his attempt to change the subject. Small talk was not his strong suit.

"The looks haven't changed," Pyrrha admitted, "But it is easier to deal with them knowing that I at least have one real friend."

"Ah, just give it time," Naruto commented, "I'm sure once they get to know you, everyone will want to be your friend."

Pyrrha smiled at his optimism, "I wish I could see it that way." she admitted.

Naruto looked at her out of the corner of his eye, "I'll just have to introduce you to Jaune and Ruby, I'm sure they would be happy to be your friends."

"I would like that," Pyrrha said, "Thank you."

The two sat in silence as the sun started to crest over the horizon. Naruto wasn't sure how long he had been out there, but the company was nice.

After several minutes of silence, Pyrrha cut in again, "What do you think the initiation will be?"

Naruto shrugged, "Dunno, probably some sort of test." The blond shinobi pushed himself up onto his elbows, "I've heard that students at Beacon are supposed to operate in teams, so it will probably have something to do with that."

"Oh," Pyrrha muttered, "Do you have anyone in mind to be on a team with?"

"I could think of a few people," Naruto admitted, "But according to my mentor, I won't be on a normal team."

"You're here on an apprenticeship?" Pyrrha asked curiously.

"Yep!" Naruto grinned, "Kinda irritating that I still have to go into the orientation, though. If it is a way to assign teams, what's the point of me having to go?" Naruto squinted his eyes at the end of his question. Pyrrha laughed at him.

"Never seen someone fight with a spear before," Naruto mentioned offhand, inspecting the weapon that Pyrrha was leaned against. The redhead leaned forward and pulled the weapon out of the dirt behind her. Naruto watched in fascination as the weapon shrunk in her hands.

"I use _Milo _in it's sword form for close range fighting, the spear form is more for throwing or keeping opponents at a distance." She explained as the sword began shifting again, this time into a long rifle, "It also has a rifle form for longer range."

Naruto looked impressed, "One weapon that can cover every base, sounds convenient."

Pyrrha suddenly found the dirt very interesting, "It's not all that special, I'm sure your weapon is just as impressive."

"Nah," Naruto declined, "Mine just has a knife and a smaller gun. Before I lost my arm I didn't even use weapons much at all. At least now I don't have to spend so much money on kunai."

"You used throwing knives?" Pyrrha asked curiously.

"Sometimes," Naruto admitted, "I usually just use my fist, but sometimes you need a little more range."

Pyrrha nodded in understanding. "It never hurts to be prepared."

Naruto yawned and spread his arms. He never noticed the small, mischievous smile that spread on Pyrrha's face when she felt the metal of his artificial arm graze her shoulder.

"You really should be careful with that arm." Pyrrha warned him ominously, "They are known to malfunction sometimes."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, slightly worried.

"I'm sure it will be fine," Pyrrha assured, "I'm sure yours is top of the line."

Naruto nodded cautiously. Before he could respond, however, he felt a sudden tug from his right arm. Naruto looked down at his metal arm just in time for it to shoot from its place at his side and connect with his face with a loud slap. Naruto recoiled in shock as the arm lashed out at him again. He stared wide eyed as the arm became fully covered in an eerie black aura. The wrist joint of the fake hand was flexing spasticlly as it edged its way back to his face. Naruto grabbed the offending joint and tried to pull it away. The blond boy rolled onto his back as the limb continued to fight in his grip.

"Pyrrha! Help!" Naruto cried as he fought with himself, rolling in the dirt, trying not to hit himself again, "It's got a mind of its own!"

As suddenly as it began, the arm lost it's blackish glow and fell limp in his grip. Naruto shot back into a sitting position and looked over to the redheaded girl. Pyrrha had collapsed onto her side and was giggling uncontrollably at his plight. The girl rolled onto her back with her arms wrapped around her torso as the giggling turned into full blown laughter.

'Did...did I just get pranked?' Naruto thought as he stared at the girl in shock, 'I really didn't think she had it in her.'

Naruto frowned as he looked around for a way to get back at the girl. He grinned in pleasure as he saw the perfect opportunity.

'Well, you know what they say.' he thought to himself, 'Revenge is a dish best served cold.'

"Y-you should...should have...seen your f-face!" Pyrrha struggled to get the words out between laughs. The redhead squeaked in shock as she felt something sneak under her legs and under her back. A blush sprang up on her cheeks as she was pulled into the chest of the blond boy.

Naruto grinned as he picked Pyrrha up bridal style. He grunted as he twisted his body and flung the redheaded girl back toward the school.

Pyrrha shouted in surprise as she went airborne. She barely had time to react before she landed in the school fountain with a thunderous splash.

It was Narutos turn to laugh as the girl stood up in the fountain. Pyrrha drug herself out of the impromptu diving pool and walked back, giggling the entire way.

"I guess I deserved that." She admitted.

Naruto grinned like a fox, "You shouldn't try to prank the prank king, Pyr."

Naruto turned his head back toward the school as the first rays of sunlight began to seep into the courtyard. As he turned his attention back to the girl, he felt his face heat up as blood rushed to the surface. At some point during her unscheduled flight, the girls hair had come loose from her ponytail. The girls mane shimmered beautifully as the morning sun glinted off of the water. Naruto's eyes unconsciously tracked a drop of water as it fell from the crimson tresses and onto her shoulder. Naruto blushed harder as the water trailed down her neck and disappeared into the swell of her cleavage.

Pyrrha must have noticed his gaze, because an equally impressive shade of red sprang to life on her face. The two teens turned away from each other, both staring bashfully at the ground.

"I-I should go get ready for initiation." Pyrrha stuttered in embarrassment.

"Yea," Naruto responded as the girl power walked away, "See you later."

Naruto felt like slapping himself again, 'Why did I do that?' he asked himself, 'I'm not like Pervy Sage or Kakashi'

Naruto suddenly felt a familiar presence enter his mind, **'You're a teenage boy, Naruto.'** his partner cut in, **'It's normal to be a little hormonal.'**

Naruto's blush returned full force as he remembered the tailed beasts presence, 'Y-you saw that?'

**'I see everything brat,'** Kurama replied, **'You need to be more careful around these kids.'**

'Yea,' Naruto agreed as he began walking to were professor Goodwitch showed him the cliffs were, 'No more perving.'

**'That isn't what I meant,'** Kurama rebuked, **'You need to be more careful with how close you get to them.'**

'What do you mean?' Naruto asked.

**'I know you will have to get close to them,' **Kurama responded, **'But don't forget that eventually we will have to return to Konoha. If you let them in, be prepared to hurt them when we leave.'**

Naruto didn't respond to Kurama, opting instead to think over his words. He absentmindedly noticed the few students hanging around the cliff. It seemed he wasn't the only early riser at the academy.

Naruto stood alone at the edge of the cliff as he thought of his plans for the immediate future. He almost didn't notice as another presence showed up behind him.

"Heeeelllooooo!" an unnaturally cheerful voice called from behind him. Naruto turned to face the speaker only to find someone way closer to him than he expected. Naruto flinched back as he tried to distance himself from the newcomer. The blond flailed his arms, attempting to regain his balance as he teetered on the edge of the cliff.

Suddenly, a fist wrapped around his shirt and yanked him back onto solid ground. Naruto leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees as he observed the person who almost knocked him off the cliff.

"Oh, You're Ruby's sister," he said as he caught his breath, "Yang, right?"

Yang rubbed the back of her head sheepishly, "Yeah, that's me!" she responded cheerfully, "Sorry about...uh...that." she finished.

Naruto waved her off, "No big deal. Did you need something?"

Yangs entire disposition changed. Gone was the cheerful teenager and in her place was an angry momma bear, "I saw your show with that girl this morning."

Naruto blushed again, "What do you mean?"

Yang took a challenging step forward and pushed her finger into his chest, "You aren't leading my baby sister on, are you?" she asked with an intimidating glare. Or what would be an intimidating glare for anyone else.

Naruto didn't think it was possible to get any redder, but it was. "N-no!" he squeaked, "It's not like that!"

Like flipping a switch, the girl flipped her personality back, "I'm just messing with ya." she laughed, "We may not have talked much, but I can tell you're not that kind of guy."

She reached up and patted him on the shoulder with a grin as his blush started to die down.

"Yang?" another voice asked, "What are you doing?"

The two blonds turned as Ruby walked up to them.

"Nothing." Yang chirped innocently with her hands crossed behind her back, "Just talking to our new friend."

Ruby looked at her sister suspiciously. Yang laughed sheepishly under her sisters stare.

"Don't you have to get ready?" Yang asked defensively, "Initiation starts in an hour."

Ruby's eyes widened as she realized the time, "Uh-oh, I'm going to be late!"

Ruby vanished in a flurry of rose petals as Yang turned back to Naruto. "I need to go get ready too," she told him, "You have to put in some effort to look this _yanging_."

Naruto gave her a dull look which caused the blond girl to pout, "Everybody's a critic."

As she walked away Naruto called out, "Do you know where Jaune went?"

Yang spun on her heel and walked backwards as she responded, "I think I saw him planning to making a fool of himself with the Ice Queen."

She disappeared around the corner, leaving Naruto to wonder who the Ice Queen was. He shrugged as he decided to just walk around to look for his wandered into back into the building in search of Jaune. As it turned out, he didn't have to wander far to find his fellow blond. Naruto grinned mischievously as he snuck up behind Jaune, who seemed to be psyching himself up for something.

He leaned over the shoulder of his friend, as close as he could get without letting Jaune know he was there.

"Whatcha up to?" he asked, directly into Jaunes ear. Jaune leapt in his spot and turned so fast he tripped himself and ended up falling to his butt. The Arc looked annoyed as he picked himself up off the ground and addressed the innocently grinning Uzumaki.

"I was trying to figure out what to say to that girl." Jaune admitted.

"What girl?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Her," Jaune responded, pointing around the corner of the wall.

Naruto leaned around the corner and saw the only one of his charges he hadn't spoken too yet. She was deep in conversation with Pyrrha, who looked distinctly uncomfortable. Naruto looked back at Jaune with his eyebrow raised.

"Why are you focusing so hard?" he asked.

"Well, I want to go talk to her," Jaune started, "But she's so pretty, and I'm...well, I'm me. I don't know what to say."

Naruto narrowed his eyes in confusion, "If you want to talk to her, then go talk to her." he stated like it was the simplest thing in the world, "Here, I'll show you."

Before Jaune could argue, Naruto grabbed him by the arm and drug him over to the two girls. The two looked up at the newcomers, with Weiss scowling and Pyrrha looking relieved. The redheaded girl had dried off at some point and fixed her hair. Naruto deposited Jaune right in front of the white haired girl.

"Hey Pyrrha!" he greeted energetically. Pyrrha gave him a little wave, a slight blush coloring her cheeks, "Jaune, didn't you have something you wanted to say?"

Jaune froze slightly before slipping into an obviously rehearsed stance that screamed of false confidence to Naruto, "Hey there," he started 'suavely', "I couldn't help but overhear that you're looking for a team. So, you, me, what do you say."

Weiss looked completely unamused before Pyrrha cut in, "Actually I think the students are put in teams of four."

"Well then, hotstuff," Jaune said as he took a step closer to the former champion, causing Naruto to raise an eyebrow and bite back a growl that confused him a little, "Maybe if you play your cards right you can be on our team, the winning team."

Weiss quickly switched from unamused to furious as she shoved Jaune away from the redhead, "Do you even know who you're talking to?"

Jaune looked inquisitively at Pyrrha before admitting, "Nope. No idea."

Weiss looked at him like he had grown a second head, "This is Pyrrha Nikos, she graduated top of her class at Sanctum."

Jaune shrugged, "Never heard of it."

If possible, Weiss' eyes widened even further, "She won the Mistral tournament four years in a row!"

Jaune looked confused, "The what?"

Weiss looked like she was about to blow an aneurysm, "She's the _Invicible Girl_ for Oum's sake!"

Naruto looked amused at the nickname while Jaune shook his head, "Why is she called that?"

"She-" Weiss started before Naruto cut her off.

"-Will be right back," the whiskered blond said as he grabbed Pyrrha's wrist, "Come on, I need your help with something."

Pyrrha didn't resist as he pulled her out of the room. She breathed a sigh of relief as they finally got out of the building.

"So, what did you need help with?" she asked inquisitively.

Naruto looked at her with an amused grin, "Me? I don't need any help. But you looked like you did."

Pyrrha sent him a small smile of thanks, "I won't be able to completely avoid people like that, but thank you."

Naruto gave the girl a fox like grin, "Ah, what are friends for?"

The two walked back to the cliffs, not talking about anything in particular when a familiar voice came over the public announcement system.

"_All first year students, report to the Emerald Forest cliffs for the start of initiation."_

"That's our call," Naruto remarked as he and Pyrrha moved over toward where the professors were standing. The two quickly noticed the metal platforms with each students name written out on a plaque beside them. Pyrrha found hers first, while Naruto had to walk all the way down to the end near Ozpin for his.

The blond shinobi stood patiently as the other students filed in. He recognized a few of them, but many more were strangers. 'No way they can pass all these students,' he thought to himself.

Naruto heard the strict blond professor begin speaking, but quickly zoned out. He was deep in thought as he examined the sunlit forest below them. He vaguely heard Jaune ask a question before a loud thumping sound, like a spring uncoiling, caught his attention. He turned toward the sound just in time to see a girl with orange hair get launched off of her platform and into the forest below. Naruto watched in amusement as one by one the remaining students got catapulted into the awaiting depths. He noticed Weiss look completely bored as she was shot off her platform, and Pyrrha with a stone-cold gaze that did nothing to hide her childlike glee at the event.

Finally, after Jaune was launched screaming like a child into the abyss, it was his turn. He almost lost his balance, however, when the platform he was on started to shift. He looked up at the headmaster, who just stared back with an insufferable smile, as if platform rotated 45 degrees to the right and launched him in a completely different direction than the others.

The shinobi laughed in excitement as he flew through the air toward an area of the forest that was conspicuously void of trees. As he approached terminal velocity, he pulled forward his chakra and let the powerful golden cloak engulf him. Like second nature, several arms of chakra exploded from his cloak and impacted the ground, slowing him down enough for him to land in a crouch.

Naruto rose to his feet and observed the clearing he landed in. It was fairly large, about the same size as the training grounds he was used to in Konoha. A small creek ambled lazily through the center, and around the clearing stalked numerous large, black beasts.

Almost in uniform, the creatures turned to face the now golden shinobi. Naruto squinted in concentration as he tried to remember what these particular Grimm were called.

Naruto thought that they looked sort of goofy. They were unnaturally tall but despite that they seemed to wobble around on little stump legs. The shinobi would admit their skull like faces that glowed an unnatural red were a little creepy. Normally he wouldn't be worried about them, but even he thought there were a lot of the creatures. They were grouped together in a black cloud that made it all but impossible to get an accurate count.

Naruto grinned in anticipation, 'So, you're trying to test me gramps?' he thought to himself, 'Alright then, bring it.'

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Amber asked, a concerned frown marring her face. Her worry was palpable as she watched the screen broadcasting the blond boy.

"I assure you Amber," Ozpin answered, "I have taken every precaution to insure the Apathy cannot get near the initiates."

"That's not what I meant," Amber responded, annoyed, "Naruto has never fought a Grimm before and you start him against _those_?"

Ozpin looked amused as he spared the maiden a sidelong glance, "If he is to be at the front of the coming conflict, we need to test his resolve. What better way than this?"

Amber didn't respond, opting instead to turn back to the screen.

* * *

Naruto wasted no time as he charged toward the black horde, a tail of golden chakra leaving a fluorescent pathway behind him. He was slightly confused when the creatures made no move to attack him. From what he understood, the Grimm were usually extremely aggressive, but these seemed to be content with letting him approach.

The blond was caught flatfooted when the horde of creatures all turned in unison and screamed. Naruto grimaced as the shrill sound reverberated through his skull. His sprint slowed into a jog, then a walk, until finally he stopped in place as his entire body began to feel like he had been dunked in ice water.

Naruto felt his previous confidence wane away, leaving a numb, empty feeling in its wake. 'What's the point of this,' he thought to himself, 'I'm never going to get home.'

His eyes scrunched in confusion at the distinctly out of character thought that filtered through his head. He tried to continue on his path toward the creatures, but couldn't work up the energy to move. He barely noticed when the powerful cloak of chakra flickered and died, leaving him feeling colder than he ever had before. The grimm took advantage of his pause and began shambling toward him as a group.

Naruto opened his eyes wider as the creatures got closer and closer. As they approached, he felt the pit of emptiness get deeper and deeper.

'Are these things doing this?' he asked himself. A quickly flair of his potent chakra, and the effects of the creatures vanished as the Kurama cloak exploded back to life. He stood again, offhandedly wondering when he had fallen to his knees, and pulled in a very slight amount of nature chakra. It wasn't enough to fight with, but it was enough to completely negate the effect of the creatures. The grimm horde paused as the blond sprinted toward them. The shinobi was confused as he ripped through the horde. When he negated their illusion, they seemed to just give up.

As he tore through their number, only a few attempted to attack him. Most of their blows were nothing more than lighthearted slaps. He assumed these creatures were only strong when they could catch their prey in their illusions, but he was probably the worst choice for them. With no less than three distinct ways to break the illusions, he was confident that these creatures posed no real threat to him.

He sighed in disappointment as the last of the creatures were crushed by the golden chakra arms. For a test, this was really easy.

* * *

Amber grinned as she watched her friend literally demolish the horde of Grimm. She knew that, while not physically all that dangerous, the Apathy were some of the toughest Grimm to deal with, especially in groups as large as that. She spared a glance back at Ozpin and noticed the self-satisfied smirk hadn't diminished in the slightest.

'What else do you have planned?' she thought suspiciously.

She gasped in shock as another Grimm made its presence known on the screen, "How did you even get one of those to come here?" she asked.

Ozpin's grin widened, "Very, very carefully."

* * *

Naruto rolled his shoulder as the last of the skeletal Grimm faded away into black smoke.

'Now, where did Goodwitch say to go? North?' he questioned in his head, not noticing an ominous stomping sound in the forest. Suddenly his instincts screamed at him to move. Naruto threw himself into a roll just as a long black tendril slammed into where he had been standing. Naruto tracked the appendage as it retracted back and eventually disappeared into the maw of an enormous black creature. The thing was almost as tall as his old apartment building, with red spots littering its body. Most of its height was due to it's long, spindly legs that were armored in bone-like plating that tapered off into a razor sharp edge. Its head towered far above the treeline, situated at the top of a long neck that rippled with muscles.

Naruto grinned like a loon as the creature stomped on the ground before charging him. He ducked under its charge, carefully avoiding the bladed legs. As he dove, he sent one of his chakra arms around the back two legs of the beast, causing it to trip and skid along the dirt before its front legs got caught in the stream and it fell forward.

It bellowed at him as it regained its footing. The beast opened its mouth, revealing its razor sharp teeth, and once again sent its long, tentacle-like tongue at him again. Naruto reached out and allowed the tongue to wrap around his arm and pull him through the air. The creature opened wide to swallow him, but he twisted his body so his feet met its snout. He flipped himself onto its head and flexed his arm out to retrieve his hidden knife. With a quick jab, the blade was embedded firmly into the base of the creatures skull. Naruto stuck himself on the beast's neck and ran down toward its body. He drug the knife down the neck, causing the beast to bellow in agony as black smoke poured out of the cut. As he pushed himself off the Grimm, he turned and once again sent a chakra arm out, this time wrapping around its injured neck. With a sharp tug, the creature collapsed backwards onto its back. The creature flailed in an attempt to roll itself back over, but Naruto was already on it. He steadied himself on its chest and quickly formed his signature jutsu in his left hand. The _Rasengan_ burrowed into the beasts chest and after a moment, caused it to cave in completely. The Grimm struggled briefly, but soon collapsed and did not rise again.

Naruto whistled as he jumped to the ground. He shook his head as he took in the destruction the short battle had caused to the environment. The ground was ripped up and torn from both the horde of smaller grimm and the larger ones trip to the pond.

'Wow, didn't think I did that much damage.' He thought as he strolled out of the clearing, 'Alright, North it is!...Which way is north?'

Naruto wandered in a random direction until he heard a loud, birdlike cry echo through the forest, 'Guess I'll go that way.' he shrugged.

The shinobi took to the trees in search of anything that wouldn't try to kill him on sight. After several minutes of traveling, he came across a curious sight. Eight people, separated by a deep ravine, fought two different but equally intimidating creatures.

On one side of the ravine, Ruby, Weiss, Blake, and Yang fought a gigantic bird and on the other Pyrrha, Jaune and two people he didn't know fought a scorpion.

Naruto hummed to himself as he remembered Ozpin's words. Neither group looked like they were in too much danger, so he opted to sit on a branch instead of jumping into the fray. He looked interested as Yang lodged herself in the mouth of the bird and punched into its throat, a loud bang echoing out with every hit.

'Interesting strategy,' he thought as Ruby went airborne and dug her scythe into the throat of the creature. Suddenly, a series of pale blue seals covered the air in the ravine and Ruby ran up the side of it, dragging the bird behind her. Naruto gave a quiet little clap as the girl decapitated the beast and landed on the cliffside after being caught in the air by Blake. Ruby accepted whatever praise Weiss gave her at the action looking very proud of herself.

Naruto turned his attention to the other group just in time to see Jaune get rocked by the scorpions pincer. He winced in sympathy as the blond boy got hounded by the arachnid, barely able to block the blows with his shield. His teammates must have noticed his plight, because Pyrrha was quick to take the creatures attention off of him. She expertly danced around its blows as one of the strangers, a boy with black hair with a single stand of pink, lined up and fired a quick burst of shots into the beast's face. The deathstalker, he remembered they were called, let out a shrill screech that made his ears hurt from where he was sitting. It didn't have time to react before the other stranger, an orange haired girl, slammed her giant hammer into the creatures side. It rocked sideways and collapsed onto its side before following its momentum and rolling onto its back. Pyrrha was quickest to react as she mounted the creature and impaled her spear into its underbelly. The orange haired girl followed behind her and hammered the spear down deeper. The creature reacted by lashing out at the orangette with its claw, but Jaune put himself between them, shield at the ready. The deathstalker latched onto his shield and flung him off into the dirt, but was left defenseless as the orange girl reared her hammer back again. This time, however, her hammer was glowing with a black aura and a loud explosion cascaded from the back end of the head. It hit the spear with enough force to push it all the way through the scorpion and leave a giant scorpion shaped dent in the hard earth.

The two girls leapt off the no longer thrashing scorpion. Pyrrha quickly moved over to check on Jaune and the orange haired girl skipped over and poked the other boy in the face.

Naruto grinned as he hopped out of the tree. He took a moment as he passed to inspect the dissolving corpse of the deathstalker. He had to admit, the thing looked a little freaky.

The blond quietly padded over to the closer group. They obviously didn't see him coming, because when he patted Jaune on the shoulder he got a sword jabbed at him. Naruto caught the sloppy strike by batting the blade to the side and gave Jaune an amused grin.

"Really? That's a greeting now?" he asked.

"Oh, Naruto. Sorry, guess I'm a little tense." Jaune laughed, embarrassed.

Naruto waved him off as he turned his attention to the other three, "Hey Pyrrha." he waved.

"Hello again," she answered before gasping, "Oh, this is Ren and Nora." She motioned to the other two.

Ren nodded at him while Nora skipped over and thrust her hand out. Naruto accepted the handshake.

"Never met a cat faunus with whiskers before," Nora said, "Do you like milk?"

Naruto scratched his whisker marks, "They're birthmarks, I'm not a faunus."

Nora seemed to accept his explanation readily because she moved back over beside Ren and said something that made the stoic boy let out an exasperated sigh.

"We should probably head back to the meeting point," Pyrrha said before reaching into her pouch and pulling out a small orange stone figurine shaped like a horse. She handed it to Naruto, "This was the only one that didn't have a match, so I assumed it was meant for you."

"Thanks, Pyrrha! You're a good friend." Naruto responded as he took it.

Naruto heard Kurama scoff in his head as the girl blushed, leaving Naruto confused.

'What?' he asked his partner.

**'I don't think she wants to be friends kid,'** Kurama grunted before he faded back into Naruto's mind, leaving a thoroughly confused shinobi to follow his friends off.

* * *

It was late afternoon by the time the group of teens made it back to Beacon. As the others went to get a good spot for the official team ceremony, Naruto was pulled to the side by Ozpin, who proceeded to launch an impromptu interrogation of the blond. Naruto had to suppress a grunt of annoyance as the head of the school peppered him with questions that he didn't know he was supposed to have answers to.

"Now that you have seen your fellow students fight, how would you say they would rank?" Ozpin asked.

"You want me," Naruto pointed to himself, "Me. To judge your students? Isn't that your job?"

Ozpin looked amused at his question, "Indeed, but another opinion from someone who has seen them in person would not be ignored."

Naruto shrugged, "Alright, whatever," he started, "Do you want it for all of them, or just the four you told me about?"

"How about you just run down each group." Ozpin answered.

Naruto felt his little amount of team leader experience he got during the war come back to the surface, "Well, Ruby's group was well balanced. They covered each others weaknesses well and were able to use their strengths to defeat their target with minimal difficulty."

Naruto thought hard on the other group of students, trying to find how to voice what he thought without sounding to mean about it, "Jaune's group is a little more...unequal. Ren and Nora worked together the best of any of the partnerships but the contrast between Jaune and Pyrrha is a little much. Pyrrha is, without a doubt, the strongest of the eight and Jaune is the weakest by just as much. Despite the differences, they worked as a team when they needed too and were able to put down the deathstalker without too many problems."

Ozpin hummed in consideration, "So if you had to list them, from strongest to weakest, how would it go?"

Naruto's eyes scrunched in concentration, "Like I said, Pyrrha is easily the strongest and Jaune is the weakest, but everyone in the middle could make an argument for 2nd place. Weiss looks to have the most formal training, but Ruby and Yang could both give her a run. Blake, Nora and Ren are strong in their own rights."

Ozpin looked like he expected everything that the blond said. With a raised eyebrow he turned to the younger boy, "And how would you alleviate the problems the teams have?"

Naruto looked slightly annoyed at the older man, "Most of them would work themselves out as the teams get to know each other better. The only real issue would be Jaunes lack of experience, but that is why he's here isn't it?"

"Indeed," Ozpin smirked, "But I digress. It is time to begin the official team ceremony."

Ozpin walked away without another word, leaving Naruto to wonder just why Ozpin wanted his opinion on the teams. Shaking his head clear, he walked to the back of the crowd of students as Ozpin took the stage with Professor Goodwitch standing off to the side.

"To those of you who remain, congratulations. Today, all of you have proven your worth and earned your place in Beacon academy. For the next four years, your team will be your family. You will learn together, live together, and fight together as you prepare to defend our world from the forces of darkness. As your name is called, please step forward and present your relics to Professor Goodwitch."

The crowd of remaining teens, which had to have been at most a third of the size of the one that morning, burst into excited whispers as Ozpin began reading from his list.

"Russel Thrush, Sky Lark, Dove Bronzewing, and Cardin Winchester, please step forward." Four boys Naruto didn't recognized stepped forward onto the platform, "The four of you retrieved the black bishop pieces. From this day forward you will be known as team CRDL, led by Cardin Winchester."

The four boys stood proudly as the small crowd briefly applauded. Ozpin gave them a few seconds before continuing. Naruto stopped paying attention as Ozpin continued to introduce other teams made of people that he didn't recognize, but he snapped back to focus as he heard a familiar name.

"Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Lie Ren, and Nora Valkyrie, please step forward." Naruto thought the four members couldn't look more different as they approached the stage. Nora was practically bouncing as she led the way, with Ren right behind her. Naruto thought the boy looked slightly bored as he followed his energetic friend. Next came Pyrrha, who moved with a confident grace that Naruto recognized from some of the kunoichi during the war. Lastly, Jaune brought up the rear, trying not to draw any attention to himself. His nervous shuffle did exactly the opposite of what he wanted it to do, "You four retrieved the White Rook Relics. From this day forward you will be known as team JNPR, led by Jaune Arc."

Jaune looked like he was about to pass out as he pointed to himself, which caused Ozpin to nod at him, "Congratulations young man."

Pyrrha gave him a light punch to the shoulder, which caused the shocked boy to collapse in a heap. The redheaded girl had to nearly drag his catatonic body off of the stage.

"Ruby Rose, Yang Xiao-Long, Blake Belladonna, and Weiss Schnee, please step forward," The four girls took the stage with varying levels of excitement. Ruby led the way as she just appeared on the stage in a flurry of rose petals. Her sister followed her with a bounce in her step that had almost every guy in the room staring, Naruto noticed offhandedly. Weiss followed behind the blond with a sense of aloof pride that was expected from someone of her social standing and Blake followed in last as she slinked behind the other three like she was trying not to be noticed. Naruto noticed that the old headmaster's gaze lingered on the youngest member of the team for just slightly longer than any of the other students, "You four retrieved the White Knight Relics. From this day forward you will be known as team RWBY, led by Ruby Rose."

Naruto watched in amusement as the young girls sister attempted to squeeze the life out of her. He also noticed, however, that he was the only one who was amused. The blond shinobi grinned as he noticed the 'I didn't get my way' look that he had seen so many times from Sasuke firmly plant itself on Weiss's face. Naruto turned his attention back to the stage as Ozpin once again stepped up to the microphone. He squinted in confusion as two more people took the stage next to Professor Goodwitch.

The first of the two he recognized easily enough. His drunken gait and slumped posture made Naruto twitch in annoyance as his fake mentor took the stage. Qrow looked like he had been bathing in alcohol so potent that Naruto could practically smell it from where he stood. Looking over, he assumed Blake actually could by the way her face scrunched in disgust.

The second person was an unknown. The woman oozed confidence as she took the stage beside Qrow. She had auburn hair with a single strand of silver framing her face. For a moment, Naruto hadn't believed it was possible for someone to be wearing less in public than Yang, but this woman proved him wrong. Her skin tight booty shorts and chainmail top under her denim jacket left little to the imagination.

"Naruto Uzumaki and Neopolitan, please take your place next to your mentors." Naruto glanced around awkwardly as he took the stage next to Qrow. He absentmindedly observed the other girl as she took her spot beside the taller woman. The first thing he noticed was her height, or rather the lack of it, as she emerged from the crowd. It made sense to him then why he had been unable to spot her in the crowd. She was clad in a white jacket with a long tail. The jacket was shorter in the front than in the back, revealing the brown corset underneath. A haphazard collection of necklaces hung around her neck. The girls two-tone hair, half brown and pink, had a strand of white highlights running down one side.

The group of four stood awkwardly for a moment before Ozpin began speaking again. "Both of you have been accepted into Beacon Academy on the mentorship program. As you well know, your attendance at this school is necessary for official licensure. According to your mentors, both of you have shown the aptitude and the desire to follow the ways of life demanded of a huntsman. While you are not official partners, the two of you will be paired together for any tests or assignments specified for teams with only the exception of missions, which you will take with other, official teams. As such, the administration has seen fit to have you act as partners in all other aspects of academy life as well. Please present your Relics to your mentor."

Naruto turned and handed the orange stone figure to Qrow as the short girl did the same with her mentor, though Naruto noticed her relic was a light pink.

"Now, Professor Goodwitch will escort you all to your assigned dorms. Classes begin tomorrow morning. Have a nice night." Ozpin finished before silently leaving stage. Qrow followed behind him and the amber haired woman just wandered off in the general direction of the exit, leaving Naruto on stage with the pink and brown haired girl. The blond boy noticed the rest of the first years crowding up behind Professor Goodwitch at the exit and turned to the girl, "I guess we should follow her?"

The girl nodded at him with a grin before sauntering off behind the professor, leaving Naruto to follow up on the rear. He took the chance that the impromptu tour gave him to familiarize himself with some of the areas of the school he had not had a chance to explore yet.

Team CRDL was the first team to get dropped off at their dorm. With their room being the first door on the hallway, Naruto assumed that this entire area was meant for their year group. A few more teams he did not recognize were dropped off before they made it to the dorms assigned to JNPR and RWBY, which were right across the hall from each other. Naruto bid the two teams goodnight as he was left alone with the professor and the new girl. He trailed behind them slightly as they reached the end of the hallway with one lonely door sitting at the end, about 30 feet from the other dorms.

Goodwitch looked over the two remaining students, "Because of a lack of space on the first year hall, Ozpin has decided that the two of you will dorm together, have a good night."

Naruto watched as the blond professor disappeared around the corner before turning back to the room. Walking in, Naruto realized his roommate had rushed in and claimed the bed closer to the rooms lone window. He shrugged as he walked over to the bed on the opposite side and plopped down before turning to the two-toned girl.

"So, I guess we're stuck together," Naruto chuckled as the girl turned her attention to him, "Names Naruto! Nice to meet ya!"

The girl gave him a friendly wave before turning to her scroll. With a deft movement, she typed something on the device before tossing it over to him.

[I'm Neo! I hope we can get along!] The message read with a little smiley face stuck on the end. Naruto grinned as he tossed the device back.

"Not a big talker?" he asked inquisitively.

Neo shrugged her shoulders and tilted her head to the side in a 'What can you do?' motion before moving her finger to her throat and drawing a little X. Narutos eyes widened in understanding.

"Well then, Neo," he said as he slumped back onto the small single bed, "We better get some rest. Classes start early." He finished with a shudder.

Neo gave him an enthusiastic thumbs up before she followed suit, burrowing into her blanket like a cat and turning toward the window. Naruto never noticed the girl begin fidgeting with her scroll again, sending out one final message.

[Contact Established]

**AN:**** So Neo shows up early? Virtual cookie for anyone who can identify her mystery mentor (who probably won't show up again in this story). Because I can feel the irritation coming at Neo's early introduction I just have to say that Cinder's group cannot infiltrate Beacon like in cannon because Amber, Qrow and Naruto have all seen their faces, so they would have to make a different plan. But what is that plan? Well, you gotta wait and see.**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry about the delay on this chapter. This semester is shaping up like it's about to kick my butt so I haven't had as much time to write as I hoped I would when I started this. **

Visions of ramen bowls danced in Naruto's head as he peacefully slumbered. A visage of pure serenity covered his face as he snuggled into the fluffy pillow. Nothing could possibly ruin his mood as he wrapped himself in the comforting embrace of his blanket. A perfect morning. Pure and utter bliss.

_Poke_

Naruto's face scrunched in annoyance as he turned away from the irritant. The bowls of ramen emptied a little and he swore his pillow was suddenly just a bit more scratchy.

_Poke_

Peace was a fleeting mistress as the bowls shattered away. A pit of unending despair opened in Naruto's stomach as his dream faded. The blond man groaned as he pulled his blanket up over his face. 'Just ignore it and it will go away.'

_Poke Poke Poke Poke._

A startling blue eye snapped open as he grabbed the object of his frustration. Covering his vision was the dual colored hair of his new roommate as she prodded his face with an...umbrella?

"What?" He grunted in annoyance.

Neo gave him a sweet smile before lifting up a clock. The circle of nightmares plainly displayed the time, 8:55. Naruto groaned as he remembered that class started at nine.

"Fine, fine...I'm up" he said disappointedly. It seemed a return to dreamland was beyond him now. He rolled out of bed and stumbled over to his assigned dresser. The school uniform he had been assigned taunted him as he slowly pulled it on. The tie made him stop and glare for a moment before some metallic object whacked him on the back of his head.

Neo stepped around him and pointed to her wrist as seriously as she could.

"Yea yea...I get it." Naruto conceded, "You might as well go, I'm going to be late either way."

Neo frowned at him and shook her head. The small girl pointed at him, then back at herself, before wrapping her pinkies together. The blond man laughed at her wordless metaphor.

"Yea, partners." he held his fist out to the ice cream girl. Neo made a dramatic show of meeting it before standing on her toes with her fists on her hips in a superhero pose.

The shinobi pulled the tie around his neck and struggled in a vain attempt to tie it. Neo looked on in amusement as finally got the thing tied in a sloppy knot, a far cry from the neat Windsor knot that was expected of him.

Neo palmed her face with second hand embarrassment before she pulled Naruto down to his knees by his blue vest. The girls deft hands quickly untied the abomination and in no time it was replaced with an immaculately tied neck piece. The small girl then wrapped the tie around her hand and drug the taller boy out of the room, stopping to pull his overcoat off of it's hanger.

By the time the duo made it to the classroom, they were 15 minutes late and Naruto was starting to turn blue from lack of oxygen. Neo was unbothered by his plight as she threw him into the room before using the distraction it caused to sneak around the teacher and into the back.

"Well, Mr. Uzumaki," the white haired grimm studies professor addressed him, "Good of you to join us. I was just explaining the purpose of the class. Please take a seat."

Naruto tried to make himself look small as he wandered to his seat. As he flopped down beside the small, dual toned girl he shot her the meanest glare he could muster. It would have been more impressive if he had been able to stop himself from grinning.

"I would be angry if I wasn't planning on doing the same thing." he admitted, drawing a victorious smirk from his partner.

His grin widened in response as he turned his attention back to the portly professor.

"Why, when I was a boy we were taught how to fight Beowolves with nothing more than a wooden spoon!" the professor exclaimed. Naruto felt his eyelids growing heavier as the large man continued on his tirade and apparently forgot the point of his own class. A loud thud resounded through the room as his head slipped off its perch on his hand and collided with the table, jolting him awake again.

'Wow,' Naruto thought, 'Five seconds, must be a new record.'

The class seemed to drag on as the professor continued with his story. Being the attentive student that he was, Naruto had to fight the urge to just sleep through it. Looking around the room, it became clear he wasn't the only student fighting the inevitable boredom that came with class room lecture. Yang had already given into her desires and was softly snoring on the row in front of him and it looked to him like Blake wasn't far behind. The other two members of team RWBY looked to be taking detailed notes, but on closer inspection he realized that Ruby was actually doodling something in her notebook that was causing Weiss to give her a withering glare.

Looking across the rows at the other of the rookie teams he knew, he noticed JNPR wasn't doing too much better than RWBY. Pyrrha and Ren were diligently, if reluctantly, taking notes, but their teammates could not say the same. Jaune looked like he was trying and failing to keep up and Nora wasn't even trying that much as she followed Yang's example, with her face squished awkwardly against the hardwood of the table.

Naruto was about to follow the two girls into their slumber when something whacked him on the back of the head. He felt the glare his diminutive partner was giving him before he saw it, but it didn't lessen the surprise as he turned to see a half glare, half puppy dog pout on the girls face. Neo slammed her finger down on her notebook, her message to him clear. The blond turned back to the professor with a small groan, all thoughts of sleep purged from his mind.

A mischievous grin crossed his face as he noticed Weiss get back to her dutiful note taking. If one thing was guaranteed to keep the whiskered shinobi awake during a boring class, it was messing with someone. As quietly as he could, he tore a small piece of his paper out and folded it over itself into as tight of a ball as he could get it. The disapproval radiating off of the mute girl beside him was unmistakable as he took aim, but she made no move to stop him.

He placed the small paper orb between his thumb and forefinger. With a mighty flick, the ball was sent cannoning through the air. With the perfect accuracy expected of a licensed shinobi, the projectile met its mark. Weiss' head snapped forward as the wide ruled missile connected solidly with the back of her neck.

There were plenty of reactions Naruto expected from the snow themed girl. An indignant cry or a surprised grunt or maybe even retribution of some sort. What he wasn't prepared for, however, was for the white haired girl to turn and snarl at him. Naruto recoiled back from her, not in fear, but rather in shock.

'Guess she's more like Sasuke then I thought.' Naruto idly wondered as the girl turned back to the teacher, a scowl now firmly planted on her face.

'**Hopefully only in the entitlement and stuck up ways,'** Kurama supplied, sounding rather amused, **'And less in the complete psychopath, destroy the world type of way.'**

Naruto snorted as he tried to bite back a laugh, 'Been awhile since you came around,' he responded, glad for the distraction from the painfully mind numbing lecture slash story time, 'What, have to clean your fur?'

Aside from an angry growl, the beast did not respond to his jab, **'I have just been thinking. It takes a bit of time considering I have to do enough for both of us.'**

'Oi!' Naruto indignantly yelped, 'What's that supposed to mean.'

'**What it means, brat,'** Kurama mocked, **'Is that no matter how strong you get, you're still an idiotic imbecile.'**

No matter what anyone else would say, Naruto did not pout at his partners criticism, 'Did you want something or just to make fun of me?'

'**Actually, We were thinking along the same lines,'** Kurama turned serious again, **'How are you going to handle the **_**Uchiha**_** when we return?'**

Naruto smirked at the sheer vitriol that Kurama expelled when he spoke the name, before frowning as the question set in, 'I...I don't know.'

Kurama sighed in exasperation, **'Somehow I knew you would say that. Naruto...I know you want to keep your promise to the banshee, but...that might not be possible anymore.'**

'No,' Naruto refuted immediately, 'I know I can get through to him...Make him see. I have too.'

'**He's too far gone, Naruto.'** The blond shinobi had never heard the mighty biju speak in such a subdued tone, **'Would you really be willing to risk that much for him? You're friends, the village, the very peace that you have worked so hard for, none of it is safe with him around.'**

'This isn't about us anymore, Kurama.' Where Kurama sounded reserved, Naruto sounded defeated as he responded, 'You heard what Old Man Sage said, as long as we continue to reincarnate, the fighting will never end. If I kill Sasuke, it would solve our immediate issues, but… it does nothing to end the Cycle of Hatred. I have to make Sasuke see the truth, not just for us, but for everyone.'

Kurama released a heavy sigh, **'You're right, brat. The cycle needs to end, but… There are other ways to get there…'** The nine tails trailed off his sentence.

'What does that mean?' Naruto questioned.

'**The Cycle of Hatred will end when the souls of Indra and Asura finally put their feud to rest, but it can also end if...one of them was unable to reincarnate….'** Kurama responded.

Naruto couldn't stop the incredulous expression that crossed his face, 'So you're saying I need to destroy his soul?'

Kurama snorted, **'Leave it to you too jump to the most intense option, brat. What I'm saying is that there are other ways to stop a soul from being able to reincarnate. Destroying the soul is an option, but we have no way to do it. I was suggesting more along the lines of sealing away the soul of Indra Otsutsuki.'**

Naruto scoffed slightly, 'And how do you think we would do that? Last I checked, both of us struggle to make even a basic storage seal. Doing something like that would so far beyond what we're capable of that there isn't a point in even trying.''

'**What happened to the never give up attitude I've been so annoyed by the last 17 years?'** Kurama snarked, causing Naruto to narrow his eyes at him, **'What? No witty comeback about never giving up? Where is the Naruto Uzumaki who looked me in the eye and said he would take away my hate? Where is the boy who stared down Kaguya Otsutsuki? Where is the boy who said he would never give up, even when the entire world was stacked against him? Are you refusing to try because you don't think you can, or because you don't think you **_**want to?**_**'**

'Kurama ...I...Just stop.' Naruto squeezed his eyes shut as Kurama continued throwing his taunts.

'**The Uchiha has proven time and time again that he cannot be trusted, that he cannot and will not change. Are you truly so desperate to save one traitor that you would risk the lives of everyone you know? You may be his target, but Sasuke Uchiha has proven that he doesn't care about collateral. Look around you,'** Naruto was unable to stop himself from glancing around the classroom, **'What if he follows you here? Everyone who has met you here would be a target. Do you think he would show mercy to the little red energetic girl? How about the Maiden? Of course, your little partner would be a prime target. Oh, maybe you could convince him to spare the tall redhead you are so obviously smitten with. You need to face it Naruto, it doesn't matter if you talk about this Remnant or the Elemental Nations, you are the only one who can stand against the Uchiha, you're just too pathetically sentimental to do what has to be done.'**

"I get it!"

Naruto's eyes shot open as he shouted into the quiet classroom. All of the first year students he had met stared at him in concern, where as all of the others were looking in confusion or shock. Even the portly Professor Port was shocked into silence from the seemingly random outburst.

"I...um...need to be excused," Naruto didn't wait for the professor to respond before he scurried out of the classroom.

Professor Port looked slightly off put but made no move to follow the blond

as he turned back to the class, "As I was saying, is there anyone who believes they exemplify the traits of a true hunter?"

* * *

Naruto sat in silence as the thoughts and the fears he had been trying to suppress rushed back into his mind. Kurama had gone silent after his little outburst, only returning to inform his partner that they would be speaking on the subject later.

The blond shinobi was unsure of just how long he had been sitting alone on a little bench outside of the school. It was hard for him to admit to himself that he knew Kurama was right. Sasuke wasn't the same boy that he had called a friend back in the early days of his career. That boy was gone, and he had been gone for a long time. That didn't change that he still hoped that he could be brought back. The idea of giving up on the person who likely understood him better than anyone else was difficult for him to accept.

Naruto was jostled from his gloomy thoughts when he felt someone sit down beside him. Soft silver met startling blue as he met the eyes of the youngest member of the school. The younger girl looked as conflicted as he felt.

"Hey," she started softly, "You left pretty suddenly. Is everything alright?"

Naruto smiled at the concerned girl, "Yea. I was just thinking about some things."

"My dad always said it's better to talk about what's bothering you than to hold it in." Ruby nodded like it was some grand revelation.

Naruto felt his face soften, "Just...thinking about an old friend."

"What about him?" Ruby asked curiously.

Naruto thought about how to phrase his answer, "It's just… We didn't separate on the best of terms. I don't know if he changed or if I did, but it feels like it might be too late to save our friendship."

Naruto flinched when Ruby wrapped her arms around him. Ruby let go quickly after she felt him stiffen.

"Sorry," she said with a light blush, "It just looked like you could use a hug. I'm sure if this guy was your friend, he wouldn't throw it away over some argument. If you ever need someone to talk to, I'll be here."

"I don't think it's going to be that easy this time," Naruto said softly, "But thanks Ruby. It means a lot."

Ruby smiled back at him, "Glad I could help."

"What about you?" The blond asked, "You look like you've got something on your mind"

Ruby blushed harder as she looked at the ground, "It's dumb."

Naruto squeezed her shoulder comfortingly, "I'm sure it's not as bad as you think. Come on, you helped me. Maybe I can help you."

"What…" Ruby took a deep breath as she thought about how to word her question, "What do you think it means to be a good leader?"

Naruto's eyes widened at her question, "That's a tough one, Ruby."

Ruby gulped, "It's just...I think Ozpin made a mistake. I'm not ready to lead a team."

"Let me guess," Naruto said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, "You think Weiss should have been made the team lead." He left out the implied _and so does she._

Ruby looked away before nodding sadly, causing Naruto to give her shoulder another squeeze. "Ruby, I'm going to tell you something an old teacher of mine told me a long time ago."

"You mean Uncle Qrow?" she asked.

"No," Naruto chuckled, "This was before I met Qrow."

"Oh." Ruby muttered, "What is it."

"Nope," Naruto denied, "Before that, I have to ask you something. When your team is on a mission, what is the most important thing?"

Ruby thought seriously for a moment, "To complete the objective!"

"Ok," Naruto nodded, "Now what if, in order to complete your mission, you had to sacrifice a member of your team? What would you do then?"

Ruby looked taken back by the change in tone, "I would make sure that all of us were safe."

Naruto smiled at the answer, "Even if it meant you failed your mission?"

"Yes." Ruby answered without a second thought.

"My old teacher told me once," Naruto continued, "That those who abandon their mission are scum, but those that abandon their friends are lower than scum. For what it's worth, Ruby, I think you'll make a great leader. Now come on, it's time for combat class with Goodwitch. Maybe it will be more exciting than Grimm Studies."

Naruto picked himself up from the bench and moved back toward the building. Ruby followed closely behind him, a bright smile adorning her face.

* * *

"As Huntsmen and Huntresses, your aura is both your sword and your shield. It is vital you know both when and when not to use it. One of the worst things that can happen while fighting Grimm is to lose your Aura Shield." Goodwitch paced across the classroom as she spoke. The room itself was much larger than the Grimm Studies classroom, but most of it was taken up by the sparring floor, which the blond shinobi was staring longingly at. In the corner of the room stood the Fall Maiden, patiently waiting for Goodwitch to give her instructions. So far all she had done was demonstrate how an Aura Shield worked, something that caused most of the classroom to groan seeing as they all (bar Jaune) already knew that.

Naruto sighed in boredom from his spot beside team JNPR. He had apparently been wrong when he assumed Goodwitch's class would be more interesting than Port's. So far it was just another lecture. He had always been more of a hands on learner, so sitting and listening to the blonde woman talk about aura was far from what he wanted.

"The goal of this class is to ensure you are ready to face any challenge you may meet in your careers, be it human, faunus or Grimm. Over the next four years, this class will consist of anything from spars against your classmates to team based excursions into Grimm infested zones." Glynda paused as she glances up to the clock on the wall at the far end of the room, "To end the day, we shall have a few spars to see where you stand as of now. If you would turn your attention to the banners, they will select the combatants. In the future you will be allowed to make challenges for yourself, but today the spars will be random."

Naruto perked up at the word 'spars' and glanced longingly at the banners. The faces of the students rotated on the first banner until it finally stopped on a familiar blond.

"Ms. Xiao-Long, please retrieve your weapon and report to the floor." Goodwitch announced. Yang hopped off her seat and sprinted into the locker room, clearly just as excited as he felt at the prospect of finally getting some action. The opposite banner mimicked the first. After a moment of spinning, Naruto felt his hopes get crushed as the board landed on a blue haired boy.

"Mr. Lark, please retrieve your weapon and report to the floor." Goodwitch droned again, prompting the boy to follow in Yang's footsteps.

Naruto clicked his tongue in annoyance and tapped his foot.

'At least I get to watch someone fight.' he thought in relief, 'Better than sitting here listening to Goodwitch talk.'

Naruto was rustled from his thoughts when he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. The blond boy turned to meet the interloper and grinned when a familiar redhead came into view, "Need something, Pyrrha?"

Pyrrha offered a little smile, "I just had a question."

"What's up?" Naruto asked, turning to fully face the girl. He offered Jaune a wave over her shoulder which was returned in kind.

"Sorry if this sounds odd, but I noticed you don't have an emblem." Pyrrha stated.

"An emblem? What's that?" Naruto asked, confused.

Pyrrha motioned to a small, bronze trinket that hung around the hem of her school skirt, a spear over the front of a round shield, "An emblem is a symbol that Huntsmen use to identify themselves. It's like a token to show who you are. As far as I know, everyone has one. Usually they define something about the person, but really they can be whatever you want. I based mine on my weapons, but some people are a little more creative. Most of the time, you would either have it stitched into your clothing like Yang or wear it like an accessory, like Ruby."

Naruto nodded at the explanation, "Qrow never told me that. I guess we just didn't have time before I came here. Man, that sounds so cool. I want one."

Pyrrha looked shyly at her feet and mumbled something that Naruto didn't quite catch due to being too focused on what his emblem would look like.

"Sorry, Pyr. What was that? I wasn't paying attention." Naruto sheepishly rubbed his head.

"I...could help you make one," Pyrrha didn't meet his eyes as she spoke, "If you want."

Naruto's eyes lit up in childish glee, "Really? That would be awesome! Thanks Pyr!"

Pyrrha blushed at the mesmerizing grin on the boys face, "I could help you design it, but we would need a smith to actually make it. The man that made mine is down in Vale, I'll give him a call after we get out of classes."

"That sounds great! Can we do it tonight?" Naruto asked eagerly. He did not seem to notice the unintended innuendo, but judging by her blush, Pyrrha did.

The redheaded girl took a deep breath to compose herself, "We are going to do some team training after classes but I should be free by 8. We can start then."

Naruto nodded eagerly as the two students chosen to spar finally reappeared on the floor. Sky had changed from his school uniform into a black v-neck shirt and matching pants underneath a set of grey armor. Yang had also replaced her school uniform and was instead in the same outfit she was in for initiation.

"You seem excited," Pyrrha observed as Naruto bounced in his seat.

"Well, yeah." Naruto said like it was the plainest thing on the planet, "Lectures are boring, This school is supposed to teach people how to fight, right? How are lectures supposed to help with that?"

Pyrrha shook her head in amusement as she turned her attention back to Professor Goodwitch.

Yang and Sky had taken their positions across from each other, underneath their respective banners. Naruto took a moment to observe their weapons. Both looked equally foreign to him, a far cry from the usual katanas and wakizashis he was used to seeing shinobi carry. The blue haired boy carried what he could only describe as an axe on a really long pole, while his opponent was adjusting a pair of golden bracers on her arms. With a snappy jerk of her arms, the gauntlets expanded until they covered the majority of her forearms.

Goodwitch cleared her throat to get everyone's attention, "If you are both ready, we can begin. All in in class spars will follow professional circuit rules. The match will end when either combatants aura falls into the critical zone, or when one combatant is forced out of bounds. My assistant, Amber, will referee the match while I observe. During each spar you will all be graded on both your fighting ability and your ability to effectively manage your aura. Now, take your positions."

Yang and Sky stepped forward, taking their positions on either side of Amber as Goodwitch retreated into the stands.

Amber glanced between the two younger teens, "Are you ready?" she asked Sky, who nodded seriously as he slid into a loose stance, his halberd raised above his head.

Amber shifted her focus to Yang, "Are you ready?" Yang smiled threateningly as she nodded, never taking her eyes off her opponent. To anyone else, Yang's stance would have looked sloppy, but Naruto had spent enough time sparring with Sakura to recognize the signs of someone coiling to strike.

Amber raised her arm and brought it down between them as she jumped back from the two, "Begin!"

Yang wasted no time as she fired her gauntlets into the ground behind her, sending her rocketing forward into her opponent. Sky was able to react, just barely, by dropping his halberd in front of him and blocking her fist with the shaft of his weapon. The force of the shot sent him skidding back, his feet throwing dust up as he tried to stop himself. Yang was on him again as soon as he recovered, throwing a vicious looking right hook that he was barely able to duck under. Sky brought the blunt end of his weapon around and used it to force the brawler to make distance between them.

Sky quickly capitalized on his momentary advantage. With masterful grace, he unleashed a barrage of swipes and jabs with his polearm, keeping Yang just out of her effective range. The blonde girl parried his blade off her gauntlet in an attempt to get inside his guard, but the boy twirled on his heel and slammed his blade into the girls now unprotected side. Yang grunted in pain as she skipped around the ground like a stone, coming to a stop just a few feet before going out of bounds.

Yang spared a glance at her aura shield and grimaced when she saw she was already getting near her body turning yellow, where Sky was still firmly in the green, the only damage he had taken being a bit of recoil from her hitting his weapon. The sound of a round being chambered drew Yang's attention just in time for her to jump away before a ball of fire slammed into the ground where she had been standing.

In an attempt to stop Sky's reload, Yang pumped Ember Cecelia forward and fired her own shot at the blue haired boy. Sky, caught off guard by the retaliation, was unable to fully dodge the shot. It glanced off his right arm, flaring his aura and causing him to stumble slightly. Yang was quick to press her opportunity as she charged the boy again.

Yang felt the familiar sensation of her semblance embrace her as her hair gained it's iconic glow. Sky had finally finished reloading his weapon and leveled the barrel of his halber/gun at her again. The tell-tale crack of a firearm filled the air again as a brilliantly blueish white flash of lighting lit up the room.

This time, however, Yang opted to charge straight through the shot. A grin appeared on the blonde bombshells face as she felt the energy of the weapon being absorbed into her. She closed the remaining distance before Sky could react and slammed a brutal superman punch into his sternum, firing her shot gauntlet directly against him as she did. The combined force of her punch, her semblance, and the shotgun blast launched Sky off his feet and directly into the wall behind him.

Skys aura shield exploded as he collided with the wall, the less than gentle impact breaking what was left hanging on. The boy slumped to the ground as his bar dropped all the way from the green into the critical red zone before disappearing completely.

"Winner, Yang Xiao-Long!" Amber announced from her place to the side. The onlooking crowd of students had mixed reactions. Most politely clapped, with Weiss, Blake and Pyrrha being the most notable among them. Others, like Neo and Ren, just looked on with nonchalance.

Some of the spectators, however, had much more amusing reactions. Jaune looked like he was going to be sick, the full reality of the class finally setting in on him. The last three of the students Yang was familiar with had the most energetic reaction. Ruby, Nora and Naruto had all jumped to their feet and were loudly and obnoxiously cheering at the fights ending, drawing a teasing curtsy from the blonde girl.

Celebrations were cut short when Professor Goodwitch took the floor again and waved her riding crop, fixing the admittedly minimal collateral damage the fight had caused, "Mr. Lark, good awareness and skillful use of your weapon put you at an advantage early on, but indecisiveness and overconfidence were your downfall." Sky nodded weakly as he limped up the stairs into the stands, not bothering to change back into his uniform, "Ms. Xiao-Long, Your form was good and an impressive control of your semblance helped you win your fight, but such recklessness will not always pan out on a battlefield." Yang grinned sheepishly as she noticed her aura level hovering just above the critical point, "Now, if you would return to the stands, I believe we have time for one more spar."

Yang returned to her seat with a victorious grin, following her opponents example of not bothering to change back into her uniform. Pyrrha offered the girl a nod of congratulations, which caused the blonde girl to preen a bit at being praised by the resident champion,

"That was amazing!" Ruby was not so contained as she greeted her sister, "You were like blam! Then he was like woosh! And then you were like BOOM!" The girl pantomimed a fight with an imaginary opponent, all the while bouncing in her seat.

Yang rubbed her head in embarresement, "It wasn't that big of a deal, Rubes. Just a casual spar."

Goodwitch interrupted their banter with a quick clearing of her throat, "Students, if you would turn your attention to the banners, the next two combatants will be chosen."

Ruby didn't lose her energetic bounce as she shifted her focus onto the banners. Several members of the student body crossed their fingers in hope as the faces of their classmates began to cycle across the board. When the faces stopped coming and the competitor was chosen, it was met with a cry of excitement and a cloud of flower petals covering every student close to her. Jaune gagged a bit as he spat out a mouthful of the ruby colored leaves.

If one were to look closely enough, they would see a microscopic smile plucking at Goodwitch's lips, "Seeing as Miss Rose catches on quite quickly, perhaps we should hurry and pick her opponent."

With a quick wave of her hand, the professor sent the second banner scrolling through the class. The class waited with baited breath as the faces flew by before it came to a stop on a very familiar blond.

"Yes!" Naruto cried in jubilation, "Finally!"

The blond shinobi leapt from the stands, drawing a startled cry from a few people around him. As he hit the ground he rolled, coming to a stop just in front of Amber, who regarded him with an amused smirk.

"Mr. Uzumaki, perhaps you should change out of your school uniform _before_ the spar." Goodwitch remarked. Naruto grinned sheepishly as he walked back toward the stands. Once he reached the edge of the sparring floor, he shedded his jacket and vest and pulled his tie off from around his neck, leaving him in only his white long sleeve.

"Hey Pyr," he got the redheaded girls attention, "can you hold these for me?"

He tossed the bundle of cloth into the girls waiting arms before walking back onto the floor. Just as he arrived, pointedly ignoring Goodwitchs annoyed grimace, Ruby came bursting out of the locker room in her signature red and black, Crescent Rose already unfurled in all of its glory.

Goodwitch left the floor as the two took their positions on either side of the Maiden. The brunette girl had barely gotten out of the way after calling for the match to begin before Ruby exploded into action, bringing Crescent Rose around in a wide arcing slash that forced Naruto away from her.

Naruto grinned in excitement as the younger girl became little more than a tornado of blades and rose petals. She might not have been as fast as Lee or Gai, but her unorthodox offense made her just as tough to find an opening on.

'**You could just use my chakra and end it,' **Kurama snarked, the first Naruto had heard from him since his rant earlier in the day.

'Where's the fun in that?' Naruto responded as he flipped away from the rampaging girl. The shinobi slipped into the ever familiar stance of his Frog Kata, which felt odd without the presence of any nature chakra, and threw himself back into the fray. Naruto ducked and dodged the wild swings of the girls oversized scythe before a brilliant, or crazy as some would say, strategy filtered through his head.

Naruto stepped forward and threw up his robotic arm, causing the blade of Crescent Rose to glance off in a shower of sparks. Ruby, thrown off balance by the sudden loss of momentum, stumbled forward into him. Naruto threw a palm strike into the girls chest which sent her reeling back. Naruto pressed forward, batting down the scythe anytime Ruby tried to use it and peppering the smaller girl with light jabs.

Ruby adjusted to his strategy more quickly than he anticipated, firing the built in rifle directly into the ground and launching her into the air. While airborne, the girl fired again, looping Crescent Rose into a wide arcing strike aimed directly for him. In a surprising show of agility, Naruto bent backward and allowed the scythe to rip through the air above him, just inches from where his head had been. As the girl completed another rotation, Naruto stood up and caught the shaft of the weapon against his chest before twisting his body violently to the side, causing Ruby to lose her grip and fly across the sparring floor.

Naruto discarded the scythe and followed the younger girl, meeting her just as she hit the ground. It quickly became clear from the brief hand to hand that Ruby was inexperienced at best in taijutsu. The girl panicked and backpedaled away from him, trying to get enough distance to get around him to her discarded weapon. Naruto felt a little bad when he landed another heavy kick into the girls unprotected side, but Ruby surprised him by rolling with the impact and sprinting for her scythe. She quickly kept him at a distance by firing shots as quickly as she could at the approaching shinobi. Naruto weaved through the shots, and as he reached her he dropped a heavy overhead kick down onto her. Ruby rolled away from the impact, but was unable to avoid the straight jab that followed it. The impact sent her tumbling back.

"Match!" Amber called as she dropped between them. Naruto sent her a confused glance before he noticed that the final hit had dropped Ruby's aura into the red. The applause from the onlookers was much the same as it was for the last fight, but Naruto ignored it in favor of moving over to the dejected looking Ruby who had yet to get up. She glanced up at his offered hand for a moment before accepting it. Naruto effortlessly pulled the smaller girl to her feet.

"Good match!" Naruto complimented, his human hand held out in a balled up fist.

Ruby smiled at him bashfully, "I didn't even touch you." she pouted.

Naruto's grin widened and his fist remained out, "You did more than you think," He admitted. Ruby glanced around him and noticed the bar of that red his aura was teetering in the yellow. He didn't have the heart to tell her it had happened when he caught her scythe. Ruby's shy smile was replaced by a slightly larger but much brighter one as she met his fist with her own.

* * *

The day seemed to drag on for the blond shinobi after combat class let out. The mix of boredom from having nothing to do and the excitement of getting his own emblem kept him glancing hopefully at the clock. When 8 finally rolled around, he leapt off of his perch on his bed and rushed out the door. Team JNPR was just returning from their team training as Naruto almost plowed over Jaune by mistake.

"Heh, sorry about that," Naruto apologized sheepishly to the amused faces of the team, before pausing at the groups ragged appearance, "Why do you three look like you got hit by a train?"

True to his observation, three members of team JNPR looked like they had been run through one of Gai's famous (read infamous) obstacle courses. Whatever happened, Jaune had gotten the brunt of it. His uniform was ripped and dirty and he was obviously favoring his left leg. Ren and Nora looked far better than him, but they too showed signs of a workout that was beyond what they were prepared for.

Ren, being the voice of reason for the motley crew, was the first to answer in the serene tone that Naruto was quickly associating with him, "Today we learned it is not a good idea to let Pyrrha set the pace for team exercises."

The Greek themed girl had the decency to look embarrassed at her teammates statement, "Sorry, I shouldn't have tried to get you all on the regiment that my old teachers set for me."

Nora bounced on the balls of her feet. Despite the scuffs and the small bit of singed hair, the orange haired girl didn't lose the seemingly inexhaustible energy that she always had, "I say we always let Pyrrha lead! Then you can make us pancakes after! What could be better than that?"

"Not dying?" Jaune muttered tiredly. The blond boy looked like he was struggling to stay on his feet as he pushed his way into the room and collapsed on his bed.

"I would have to agree with Jaune," Ren replied, "Pyrrha's method of training is a bit...intense."

Nora pouted at her partner, "Can you at least make me some pancakes?"

Ren sighed, whether it was in exasperation or fondness Naruto couldn't tell, before he relented, "Ok, Nora. Let me go get some supplies. See you later Pyrrha, Naruto."

"Bye guys!" Nora waved enthusiastically at them as she followed the stoic boy down the hallway.

"So, where are we doing this?" Naruto asked, a bit impatiently.

"I think the library is open till 9:30," Pyrrha commented, "I was going to suggest we do it in our room, but I think I went a little too tough on Jaune today."

"The library is fine with me." Naruto agreed, too excited to care about where they were at.

Pyrrha offered him a grateful smile, "Let me grab a few supplies then we can go."

Naruto nodded enthusiastically and Pyrrha disappeared into the room. A moment later she reappeared and the two were off. Aside from a bit of small talk, the two walked in relative silence. Beacons library was huge, exponentially larger than anything Naruto had ever seen. It made sense, he supposed, when you considered that the world of Remnant hadn't had a major conflict in almost a century. In a place like the Elemental Nations, centers of learning like this one were few and far between and most books that were not related to shinobi could only be found in the palaces of the Daimyo's. Common books like those written by his former teacher were common enough in civilian markets, but things like history and philosophy were much more rare. Even Konoha's academy had been using the same history book for almost twenty years, so old it didn't even contain information on the attack of the Kyubi. Luckily, enough of the teachers were old enough to remember it directly so he supposed they didn't need a book for it.

If Pyrrha noticed his curious staring at the mountains of books she didn't say anything as she led him to the back of the room. In a small cove in the back of the room, a multitude of different sized tables sat in a haphazard pattern. The redheaded warrior made a beeline for one of the smaller ones, just big enough to fit two people comfortably or an entire team in a tight pinch.

Pyrrha motioned for him to sit beside her as she slid into the seat. His brow scrunched in confusion as Pyrrha slipped into what he would come to know as 'Pyrrha Lecture Mode'.

"Do you know why Huntsmen and Huntresses use emblems to differentiate themselves on the battlefield?" she asked. Naruto shook his head no, prompting her to continue, "Before the Great War, when Mistral and Mantle banned all forms of self expression, certain rebel groups within the two countries started using stylized pictures as a way of identifying their allegiances. After the war picked up, especially after Vales invasion of Mantle, the Valian soldiers began to adopt the practice. The soldiers of Vacou followed their example after their entrance into the fighting. Soon every battalion had their own, unique emblem, but the trend wouldn't set in until after the war. When the Warrior King of Vale set up the four Huntsman academies, the first classes to go through them were mostly young, former soldiers."

"And these soldiers brought their emblems with them." Naruto guessed.

"Exactly," she nodded "but they weren't soldiers anymore. They were no longer bound to the groups that those emblems belonged to, so they started making changes to their emblems to give them a more personal touch. By the time the first wave of professional Huntsmen hit the field, it was protocol for every licensed Huntsman to have a personal emblem to identify themselves."

"You seem to know a lot about it all," Naruto commented.

Pyrrha blushed as she realized she had just gone onto a tangent, "I'm sorry, I was really interested in history when I was a girl."

She blushed harder when he chuckled at her, "I think it's cute." he commented offhand.

If it was possible for her face to match her hair, it had.

"So how does this work?" Naruto asked.

Pyrrha had never been happier about a change of topic, "Well, first you have to decide what kind of emblem you want. They can be based on just about anything, so long as they aren't exactly the same as anyone else's. Some families, like the Schnee's, get around this rule by having their emblems be slightly different colors."

"Well," Naruto said, drawing a couple of symbols on one the the pieces of paper Pyrrha had laid out, "Where I'm from this is the symbol all of the shi...village guards wore." he pointed out the stylized leaf of Konoha, "And this was the symbol of my family." he shifted to the Uzumaki swirl.

Pyrrha considered them both before continuing, "They both would work well enough on their own, but a Huntsman's emblem is supposed to be representative of them as a person. Maybe you could use one of them as a base for a more personal design."

Naruto nodded in agreement while thinking of what sort of design he could use. Like a lightbulb being flicked on, an idea slammed into him, "What if we do this."

A few moments passed, filled with the scribbling of pen on paper. Naruto focused on doing the basic design while Pyrrha threw out a style suggestion here and there and occasionally suggesting a different type of design. The blond shinobi accepted a few of her suggestions, and the final product was something he was sure would be like anything he had seen in his home. Naruto sat back in his chair, admiring the design that he would be proud to call his own.

Pyrrha snapped a photo of the design with her scroll, "I'll get this sent down to the designer in Vale. Is there any particular material you want it to be?"

Naruto considered the design for a moment, "This part should be black, this part orange and this part white." he pointed out the separate pieces of the emblem as he suggested the colors.

"I think it fits you perfectly." Pyrrha commented.

Naruto nodded, "More than you know."

Compared to some of the emblems he had seen floating around, the one he and Pyrrha came up with was rather simple. An orange foxes head set against a swirl of tails that melded together to form the design of the Uzumaki Swirl. In the center of the foxes face was a small, black semi-circular shape with a white dot in the thicker part. The inclusion of the Yin half of the symbol was a late decision by Naruto, but given the recent revelations of his life, it felt fitting to include it. Overall the design was pretty minimalist, but he felt that it suited him perfectly.

Naruto ran his finger over the drawn emblem, an odd sense of pride bubbling up. His entire life he had been defined by something out of his control. From the young, hated orphan to the hero of Konoha, he had always been what people saw him as. This small symbol, designed in a foreign building a world away from his home was the first thing he had ever had that truly defined who he was.

The Uzumaki swirl was a given. It was true that he never really knew any other members of his torn family, but it was impossible not to feel some kinship with them. The reality that he had once had a family had never really occurred to him growing up, beyond the earlier years in the academy. Even after he met the piece that his father left behind, he didn't think about it. But the brief meeting with his mother had changed his perspective. The few short moments he spent with her inside Kurama's seal was probably the happiest he had ever been. There had been times growing up where he had wondered if his parents had ever cared. He had heard the rumors about him, it was impossible not too. Sure the villagers never said anything to him directly, unwilling to risk the wrath of Hiruzen Sarutobi, but he was neither deaf nor blind. He saw the looks and heard the whispers about him. To get the chance to speak with the one person he had always dreamed of, even if only for a moment, was everything he ever dreamed about. To finally know that he was wanted.

Whether he liked it or not, being the host of the Nine-Tails was just as much a part of him as being an Uzumaki. He had never known anything else. It was his curse as a child, his burden as a young teen, and his gift now. The number of people who would be proud to be a Jinchuriki could probably be counted on one hand, but despite the occasional spat with Kurama, he couldn't imagine his life without his partner.

The Yin symbol didn't have as much personal meaning to him, but it was a part of who he was just the same. Old Man Sage's explanation of the nature behind him and Sasuke had shed some light on everything he had been taught of the prophecy by Jiraiya.

"What are you going to do now?" Pyrrha's innocent question pulled him out of his thoughts.

"I don't really have any plans." Naruto admitted, "I was probably just going to go work on my project." Naruto spared a glance at the clock. They must not have been there as long as they thought, considering it only read 8:30.

"The rest of my team and Team RWBY are meeting up in the cafeteria for dinner if you want to join." Pyrrha offered.

"Sounds good." Naruto nodded. The walk from the cafeteria wasn't a long one and when they arrived, everyone else was already waiting at one of the tables. All of them were broke off, talking in their own little groups, but the growing bonds of friendship were obvious.

Yang and Weiss were bickering about something, with Ruby desperately trying to play peacemaker. Blake looked on in barely veiled amusement, her book forgotten on the table. Nora had taken to poking the still dead looking Jaune on one of his temples while he lay on the table, and had somehow gotten Neo to join her while Ren looked on impassively.

Ruby was the first to notice the two approaching and enthusiastically waved them over. Pyrrha greeted her team and Naruto took the seat across from her, evening out the sides.

"You need to lighten up, Ice Queen." Yang commented, causing Weiss' face to scrunch in annoyance.

"Well, I'm sorry that I take my education seriously!" Weiss commented sarcastically, "Unlike some people."

"She's right, Yang." Ruby addressed her sister, "We should try to pay more attention."

Ruby looked like she didn't enjoy the thought of studying more, but almost glowed in delight when Weiss gave her a respectful nod. It seemed that whatever had happened between Weiss and Ruby had passed over, though from the tenseness in Weiss' voice she wasn't completely over it.

Naruto shifted his attention down a few people to where Jaune was. The exhausted blond boy had finally snapped at his teammates constant prodding and was trying to bat her hands away. Trying, but failing spectacularly. Eventually, his partner came to his aid and succeeded in getting the excitable orange haired girl to stop.

Naruto grinned despite himself as he observed the rag-tag group. As hard as he tried, he knew he wasn't going to be able to stop this group from worming their way into his defenses. Over the last few years, the circle of people he honestly called a friend had grown and grown and now it was 9 people bigger.

And as much as he wanted to deny it, one person smaller.

'Kurama?' Naruto called out into the reaches of his mind.

'**Hm?'** Kurama answered him.

'I've...uh...been thinking about what you said earlier.' Naruto responded. Kurama didn't respond to him, so he continued, 'I think you're right.'

'**What are you saying Naruto?'** the fact that the beast had called him by name was not lost on the blond shinobi.

'About Sasuke...He's not the same person anymore.' Naruto admitted,

Kurama stayed silent for a moment, before continuing, **'So…?'**

Naruto took a long, drawn out breath before he continued, 'Next time I face Sasuke will be the last time...One way or another.'

'**Then we need to get to work.'**

**A/N: Honestly, I'm not quite happy with the design for the emblem. I had a picture in my mind but I don't think I described it well. Since it seemed like a really little detail to hold the chapter up over, I just decided to leave it as is, but If I figure out something better I'll edit it in later.**


	7. STATUS UPDATE

NOT A CHAPTER

Just a quick update to respond to a couple of DM's i've gotten. Neither of my active stories are abandoned. Life has been hectic in the last couple of months between college and working on the frontline fighting this virus. As of now, I have the groundwork for the next chapter of A Change of Fate laid out and the next chapter of A New Betrayal about 20% done. My fall semester is set up to be a notably easier class load, so hopefully I'll be able to commit to a more regular update schedule but for now we'll just have to see what the future holds.


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